How has ‘Teflon’ Ant McPartlin survived a series of scandals to sign a new £30m Ant & Dec TV deal?

Huddled in the corner of a central London bar, the fresh-faced Ant McPartlin had a laugh with his best friend Declan ‘Dec’ Donnelly and his former co-host, Cat Deeley.

The three TV stars were roaring with laughter.

The well-paid trio was the guest of honor at a staff meeting for SM:TV, the now-defunct children’s show that catapulted them to fame nearly 25 years ago.

But while others partied into the wee hours of the morning at the party last April, Ant – who, observers insisted, stuck to sparkling water – left early and caught a taxi back to the £6m mansion he he shares with his wife of two years, Anne. -Marie Corbett.

Such behavior represented a big change for the 47-year-old star. Just five years ago, Ant would have been partying until the wee hours of the morning.

In those days, his drunken antics were legendary even by the standards of the drink-drenched television industry. Most of the people who have worked with him over the years, if pressed, will reveal a lot of shocking anecdotes about his hellish lifestyle.

But then, in June 2017, Ant finally admitted to being addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, and entered rehab. Some called it ‘brave’; others thought his career was over.

His problems only worsened when, a year later, he crashed his car head-on into another vehicle while drunk.

But what a difference a few years can make. There was absolutely no mention of Ant’s travails when the corks were popped last week on ITV to celebrate the duo’s decision to sign with the network for another three years, in a ‘golden handcuffs’ deal worth a staggering £ 30 million.

It was also not discussed during the negotiations, I am told.

ITV bosses are said to be “ecstatic” that they have managed to hold their own against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime and keep their most prized possessions.

Kevin Lygo, the station’s head of programming, welcomed the deal, saying, “The world of television and broadcasting is always a much brighter place with Ant and Dec at the center.”

The £30m bonanza is proof, if need be, that nothing seems to affect Ant in the long run, despite all its much-publicized blunders.

In fact, net sources say no one mentions Ant’s previous scratches, ever. “He is as good as forbidden,” says one. ‘It is the unnamable within the organization, it is as if it had never happened. Ant has a lot of unwavering support from the highest levels of ITV.

From national pariah to being welcomed back as a much-loved stalwart of our television screens in just a few years. How did he do it?

To answer that question, we must go back to that terrifying moment in March 2018 when a drunken ant crashed his black Mini into an oncoming car near his home in Mortlake, south-west London. His mother, Christine Woodall, was in the passenger seat.

He was arrested and found to be twice over the drink driving limit. Wimbledon Magistrates Court later heard that in the other car, another Mini Cooper, a nine-year-old boy yelled at his mother, who was driving: “I’m dying, Mum, I’m dying!”

The ugly episode would surely have spelled the death of any other TV star’s career.

Ant was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months. He apologized profusely, announced that he was going to rehab once more and canceled all of his television engagements for the rest of the year, including ITV’s I’m A Celebrity. . . Get me out of here. Dec was left alone to host that season’s final Saturday Night Takeaway episode, as well as the finals of Britain’s Got Talent.

Many people in show business thought Ant was done for. But his solid network of powerful friends had other ideas.

Ant, with Dec of course, was essential to the ITV brand. The station chiefs felt they had to do anything to support him.

Ant’s all-powerful management team is London-based YMU, which is believed to have significant influence over ITV thanks to its list of celebrity clients, which include Claudia Winkleman, Davina McCall and Phillip Schofield. They came in to bat for him, hard. Meanwhile, Ant’s super-loyal PR man Simon Jones stood up for him during his troubles. Dec also supported his best friend of 30 years (they met at age 13, working on the children’s TV series Byker Grove).

When asked if he’d considered going solo, Dec admitted, “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind.” Ant had a lot of work to do on himself. He had a lot to think about. I did anyway. Ultimately, what he wanted most was for Ant to come back healthy and happy and for us to get our relationship back on track.”

All very well. But the problem for Ant wasn’t the loyalty of her friends or her paid allies. The problem was the British public. And they weren’t so enthralled by the antics of the former family favorite.

Social media was ablaze with people who were furious that Ant hadn’t been kicked out. “I still can’t believe how much support this garbage of a human being is getting,” said one. Others swore never to see him again.

ITV was worried. He had spent more than a decade prioritizing his ‘golden four’: Ant, Dec, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

“When the Ant drink driving incident happened, ITV thought they were screwed,” says a source. “Dec is adored but he couldn’t do it alone, they’re a double act, the Morecambe and the Sage of his time.”

Some 18 months later, in December 2019, ITV’s Caroline Flack was accused of attacking her boyfriend Lewis Burton. But instead of being treated with kid gloves, Flack was fired from her.

She was devastated and regularly asked friends why ITV was supporting Ant as she was hung out to dry, though ITV insisted that it “made it clear that the door was open for her to come back”. Tragically, Flack took his own life from her in August 2020, after which ITV said: “She will be sorely missed by all.”

Meanwhile, one can imagine the relief on ITV, and within Team Ant, that the star’s ex-wife, Lisa Armstrong, has remained silent about his behaviour. ITV pundits tell me they think this has been the biggest factor in Ant’s continued popularity.

Their marriage ended in early 2018, 12 years after they tied the knot at Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire, by which time Ant was dating Anne-Marie, his and Lisa’s assistant. (Ant and Anne-Marie have always maintained that their relationship began after the breakup of their previous marriages.)

Lisa, an award-winning make-up artist, has never shared what happened at her £5million mansion in Chiswick, west London. And she assures her friends that she never will.

One told the Daily Mail: ‘Ant and Lisa have been through a lot. She gave him 23 years of her life and then went off with her personal assistant. She was absolutely devastated.

‘If she gave her side of events, it could have made things uncomfortable for Ant. There are definitely some details I’d rather not reveal.

In the couple’s long-running divorce battle, custody of their chocolate Labrador, Hurley, loomed large. Eventually, they agreed to share access, with Dec often acting as the go-between.

Armstrong was awarded £31 million in the divorce settlement. It was reported that Ant wanted her to sign a gag order, but she refused. Lisa also had a contentious relationship with Ant’s tough public relations man, Jones, who oversaw the successful campaign to rehabilitate her client’s reputation.

Jones, who has a reputation among showbiz journalists for being abrasive, didn’t hesitate to involve Ant’s lawyers when the going got tough.

Meanwhile, Ant made a new home with Anne-Marie, a mother of two, at Wimbledon. After a series of interviews with The Sun, Ant began to slip under the radar.

Lisa kept the marital home, which meant that, for the first time in 20 years, Ant and Dec didn’t live on the same street.

The move also meant the end of their sleepy pub crawls along the Chiswick High Road. Instead, tea became his drink of choice and he began exercising regularly, swimming and jogging.

In August 2021, Ant married Anne-Marie at St Michael’s Church in Heckfield, Hampshire. During her boyfriend’s speech, he revealed her remarkable closeness to her two daughters, reportedly saying, “They’re amazing kids and I’m thankful they call me ‘dad’.”

Today, he and Anne-Marie live a quiet life and rarely make public appearances.

This low-key approach is another factor in rehabilitating your reputation.

Having recently signed their lucrative new deal with ITV, Ant and Dec are about to embark on their busiest year yet.

Their latest TV project, Ant And Dec’s Limitless Win, launched to an impressive six million viewers and they will also present I’m A Celebrity All Stars from South Africa later this year, featuring a list of past contestants.

His bigger roles at ITV raise the question among some employees what Ant would have to do to lose his job. “We’re sure we’ll be seeing Ant on TV for a few years,” said one. ‘He is absolute teflon.’