Donnelly\u2019s long-time presenting partner had consumed more than twice the legal alcohol limit when his car collided with two others in March 2018. He was fined \u00a386,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.<\/p>\n
McPartlin stepped away from his presenting duties, with Holly Willoughby stepping in to host that year\u2019s series of I\u2019m a Celebrity with Donnelly, who was left \u201cangry\u201d by his co-host\u2019s behaviour.<\/p>\n
But Donnelly, who launched to fame in 1989 alongside McPartlin on TV series Byker Grove, has now commended his co-star\u2019s decision to step away from the spotlight, during which time he went to rehab, in a new interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I most admire is that with the challenges he\u2019s faced, especially over the last few years, Ant took responsibility and real action,\u201d he told The Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe worked on himself so much to get back not just to being himself but actually being a much better person than he was before.\u201d<\/p>\n McPartlin reflected on his journey to sobriety, adding: \u201cThese last few years, it\u2019s the happiest I\u2019ve been in a long, long time. What changes as you get older, especially being sober as well, for me, is the purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Ant McPartlin was charged with drink driving in 2018 (ITV)<\/p>\n He highlighted their stint presenting I\u2019m a Celebrity, stating: \u201cWhen you\u2019re live in Australia and you\u2019re in the moment with your best friend, there\u2019s nowhere else I want to be, but as soon as we finish, we go back to our apartments by the beach and we\u2019re with our families. That\u2019s where we want to be right then.\u201d<\/p>\n McPartlin has been married to his former personal assistant, Anne-Marie Corbett, since 2021. They have a son, named Wilder, who was born in May 2024, and McPartlin is also stepfather to Corbett\u2019s two teenage daughters from a previous relationship.<\/p>\n The TV presenter was previously married to Lisa Armstrong for 12 years before their separation in January 2018, two months before the drink-driving charge. <\/p>\n The year before, he entered rehab after a knee injury in 2015 led him to become addicted to prescription pain medication. Doctors told him he was \u201ckilling\u201d himself by mixing the meds with alcohol. <\/p>\n After his 2018 drink-driving charge, McPartlin told The Sun what he said to Donnelly in the aftermath: \u201cI just need to take time out and re-evaluate and get better and deal with things going on in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Ant and Dec (Getty Images for the NTA’s)<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI’m very lucky that I’ve got an understanding business partner and best friend who said, ‘Absolutely, your head is more important than anything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n After embarking on a music career as PJ & Duncan, releasing the song \u201cLet’s Get Ready to Rhumble\u201d in 1994, the pair became two of the UK\u2019s most successful presenters, hosting I\u2019m a Celebrity, Britain\u2019s Got Talent, Limitless Win and Saturday Night Takeaway, which came to an end in 2024.<\/p>\n They won the National Television Award (NTA) for Best Presenter a record 23 times until 2025, when Gary Lineker won shortly after announcing he had quit Match of the Day after 26 years.<\/p>\n At the weekend, the pair issued an apology<\/a> and pulled an advert for their new podcast, which some viewers claimed featured suicide imagery.<\/p>\n![\"Ant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newFile-8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ant-And-Decjpg.jpg\")
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