In a podcast appearance, Ant and Dec revealed their anxiety issues, and how parenthood is affecting them
Caroline Barry and Mark Jefferies
12:06, 19 Jan 2026
(Image: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
British TV star Declan Donnelly spoke out for the first time on a podcast about his silent mental health battle. The TV star admitted that he has ‘constant anxiety’ and feels that he should always be active which makes it hard to relax.
He said he feels he should always be doing something and that he can never ‘sit down.’ Donnelly revealed that he went to therapy around five or six years ago and he felt it was incredibly beneficial for him.
The duo opened up during an appearance on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, where he was joined by his ‘I’m a Celebrity.’ co-host, Anthony McPartlin, reports The Mirror.
Anthony and Declan, who are also known as Ant and Dec, rose to stardom as teenagers through TV presenting and music. They discussed fatherhood and how they now appreciate their long careers as they have got older
Donnelly confessed to struggling with his mental health: “I struggle a bit with, it’s kind of a low level, constant anxiety about ‘should be doing this’ or ‘I’ve got to be doing…
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly appear on Fearne Cotton’s podcast(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“I never feel I can sit down and just watch telly, I always feel like I should be doing something else. There’s that anxiety that there’s a job that needs to be done somewhere and I should be doing it.
“I struggle with that a lot, with trying to calm that voice in the back of your head that’s going, ‘no, you should be using this time more productively’. I went through a period of having therapy about five, five or six years ago. I really got a lot out of it. I really enjoyed it.”
He said that after taking a break from therapy, as he attempted to book another session, but he therapist told him that he couldn’t see him. He said: “He did recommend somebody else and I’ve still got those details, I just haven’t managed to make an appointment yet.”
Donnelly, marking his first-ever appearance on a podcast, said that they take their roles “incredibly seriously”. The Geordie duo, who present ‘I’m a Celebrity’, have presented multiple primetime entertainment shows, including Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain’s Got Talent and Ant And Dec’s Limitless Win.
Donnelly said: “When we’re looking at projects, we always look at how can we get the whole family together?”
“To entertain the whole family is no mean feat, and you’ve got to try and grab each generation and entertain them. It’s entertainment, it’s fun, but we take it incredibly seriously.”
Declan Donnelly opens up about silent health struggle and ‘voices in his head'(Image: Belta Box)
McPartlin added: “We do the best job in the world. We have a laugh every day. We’ve hosted some turkeys over the years. It hasn’t always been a success. t’s a privilege to be in someone’s living room on a Saturday night hosting a big show.”
McPartlin admitted he now has to mind his language around his 19-month-old son as he gets told off by his partner for swearing. He also said his daughter wants to watch I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here but he isn’t sure she should.
“I’m getting told off a lot for swearing in the house,” he confessed. Donnelly revealed on the podcast that his seven-year-old daughter, Isla, requests to watch I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! but he hesitates as it airs after the watershed. He also mentioned his three-year-old son, Jack, adding: “I’m not sure my kids should be watching my TV show.”
The duo also revealed they’re launching their own podcast series together, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, which kicks off later this week.
The duo also revealed they’re launching their own podcast series together, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, which kicks off later this week.(Image: Belta Box)
“It’s really exciting,” Donnelly explained, revealing they’d actually recorded a pilot for a podcast “about 15 years ago” in a pub, but hadn’t taken it further at the time.
Last week, the pair issued an apology after promoting the new podcast with a video that faced backlash for its “suicide imagery” showing feet dangling above the ground.
In a statement to BBC News, they said: “We did not mean to cause any offence with this promo video and we are sorry if it upset anyone.”