Ant and Dec have been one of the most recognisable duos in TV for decades.

 

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Ant and Dec have dominated TV screens for decades (Image: Getty)

Few TV partnerships have stood the test of time like Ant and Dec. The duo have dominated British television for decades, first rising to fame as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove in the 1990s. Since then, they have gone on to dominate prime-time television, collecting countless accolades such as National Television Awards and BAFTAs. Now a staple on British TV, it’s hard to imagine life without some of Ant and Dec’s shows including I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent.

However, their joint career almost came to an abrupt end before it even officially got started. The duo recalled a time when things “got ugly” during a boozy night in Spain back in 1995. Writing in their book, Once Upon a Tyne: Our Story, Ant and Dec recalled their huge row happened ahead of their appearance on GMTV’s Fun in the Sun with Anthea Turner.

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Ant wrote: “It was a special summer holiday version of the ITV breakfast show, in 1995, we were promoting Stuck On U. Our tour manager Kim Glover told us we had the day to ourselves before appearing on GMTV the following morning… so we went to the pub.”

They ended up having a few too many drinks while out, with Dec hoping to call it a night at 10pm due to their early start the next morning.

However, Ant had no intention of going home, asking Dec: “What the hell are you going to bed for?”

Ant admitted that seeing Dec stumble towards the lift left him “incensed,” adding that he “lost it”.

He demanded: “Don’t you dare walk away from me when I’m talking to you.” Dec then began “ranting” at Ant, asking, “Who the hell does he think he is, talking to me like that?”

Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly

Ant and Dec rose to fame as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove (Image: Mirrorpix)

The presenter recalled how his Ant was “really pushing my buttons” as they argued in the lift.

When Ant tried to make his point, Dec put his fingers in his ears and said, “La la la la, I can’t hear you.” Things then turned physical between the pair, with Ant recalling that he “punched Dec in the chest” after his childish antics made his “blood boil”.

Dec admitted that he tried to knock the cap off Ant’s head but ended up just punching the peak of his cap.

Ant added: “I proved Dec is rubbish at fighting when he’s had a few.”

They appeared on the breakfast show just a few hours later, refusing to make eye contact. But everything changed once the cameras started rolling, and the pair insisted they have not argued since that drunken incident decades ago.