Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne.

After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama Byker Grove, they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, the names of their characters from the series.

Previous hosting credits include SMTV Live, CD:UK, Friends Like These, Pop Idol, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway from 2002–2024, PokerFace, Push the Button, Red or Black?, and Text Santa.

Their most famous hit during this period was the BRIT Award nominated "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", for which the video and moves were choreographed by Mark Short, who had previously worked with Tina Turner and Peter Andre.

During their time as primarily music artists, the pair released sixteen singles and three studio albums, with their highest UK chart position being number three.

The duo had a short-lived revival in the music industry, releasing a song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, titled "We're on the Ball".

On 23 March 2013, Ant and Dec performed "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" as part of their show Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which powered the song to number one in the UK iTunes chart and on Sunday 31 March 2013 the track was revealed as the Official UK Number 1 single on The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1.

[15] Ant & Dec got their first presenting job in 1994 using a shortened versions of their real names, Tony & Lan, while still releasing music under the alias of PJ & Duncan.

In 1995, the duo were once again offered a job on CBBC, this time presenting their own series, entitled The Ant & Dec Show.

[16] In 1997, a VHS release, entitled The Ant & Dec Show – Confidential, was made available in shops, and featured an hour of the best bits from two years of the programme, as well as specially recorded sketches and music videos.

[17] In 1997, the duo switched to Channel 4, presenting an early-evening children's show entitled Ant & Dec Unzipped.

[19] ITV signed the duo in August 1998,[20] and within weeks they were assigned to present ITV1's Saturday morning programmes SMTV Live and CD:UK, alongside Cat Deeley.

Ant & Dec's first primetime presenting job came in the form of BBC Saturday-night game show Friends Like These, which was first broadcast in 1999.

Pop Idol was broadcast for only two series before being replaced in 2004 by The X Factor, to which former Smash Hits editor Kate Thornton was assigned presenting duties.

Dec failed to pull hard enough on the bike's throttle during the challenge, causing it to topple over and sending him flying through the air.

They also brought in new features such as the Supercomputer, Vegas or Bust, the End of the show 'show' where Ant and Dec perform with an act such as Riverdance or an Orchestra, and "I'm a Celebrity, get out of my ear!"

The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes of money to win the ultimate prize.

They hosted The Price Is Right, Family Fortunes, Play Your Cards Right, Bullseye, Take Your Pick!, The Golden Shot and Sale of the Century.

In June 2007, they were offered the job of presenters on new ITV reality platform Britain's Got Talent by Simon Cowell.

Text Santa returned in 2012, 2013 and 2014 with Ant & Dec co-hosting alongside Christine Bleakley, Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Alesha Dixon and Paddy McGuinness.

[31] In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, reportedly worth £30–40 million, securing their career at the station until the end of 2009.

They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show 2DTV, and face masks in Avid Merrion's Bo Selecta.

[citation needed] On 28 September 2008, news outlets reported that the pair were attacked by the Taliban whilst in Afghanistan to present a Pride of Britain Award.

[42] In 2014, Ant & Dec designed a black and white striped Paddington Bear statue, one of fifty statues of the bear located around London prior to the release of the film Paddington, which was auctioned to raise funds for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

[43] In 2015, the pair made a cameo appearance on the U.S. adaptation of Saturday Night Takeaway, NBC's Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.

The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway had:[49][50] Between September and October 2005, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon had: The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye.

[58] In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield.

The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.

[60] The film gained positive reviews with critics praising the pair's acting performance but lost more than half of its budget at the box office.