They are one of the longest partnerships on TV, with a close bond both on and off screen.
And Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed that some fans have taken speculation about their close friendship to a whole new level by asking if they have slept together.
In an interview with Wrong magazinethe pair admitted that some fans have “insinuated” that they have been more intimate than just best friends.
The pair have been friends for 35 years after first meeting on the set of Byker Grove in 1989 when they were just 13.
When asked if they have faced speculation about their relationship, Ant said: ‘No one has ever asked if we’ve slept together…I don’t think so. Please, no one ever asked us if we slept together!’
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed that some fans have taken speculation about their close friendship to a whole new level by asking if they have slept together.
In an interview with Fault Magazine, the couple admitted that some fans “insinuated” that they have been more intimate than just best friends.
As Dec chimed in: ‘Oh…’ Ant added: ‘There you go. You don’t have to answer it, Dec! People have always insinuated.”
Dec continued: ‘It’s funny, people have been insinuating and speculating.’
Ant and Dec also told the publication that they have decided to pause Saturday Night Takeaway to focus on spending time with their families.
The Geordie duo, both 48, return to ITV1 on February 24 at 7pm to lead the show’s 20th series, months after announcing the temporary hiatus.
Ant opened up about the real reasons for the show’s hiatus in an interview Wrong magazine as he publicly addressed his wife’s pregnancy for the first time, saying, “We need to spend some time with our family.” We both have children.’
It comes as Ant becomes a father for the first time in June as his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, is pregnant. It will be Ant’s first while Anne-Marie has two children from her previous marriage.
Meanwhile, Dec shares two children: Isla, five, and Jack, one, with wife Ali Astall.
In December last year, there were rumors that Anne-Marie was expecting their first child, after she turned out to be several months pregnant when she returned from a trip to Dubai.
Ant and Dec also told the publication that they have decided to pause Saturday Night Takeaway to focus on spending time with their families
Speaking to the publication as they posed for animated shots together, Ant said: ‘On a more personal level, part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is that we need a break ourselves, and we need some time with our family Spending time.
‘We both have children that we need to spend time with for a while. We need time to think and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and see where we are today.’
Also in the candid interview, the pair reflected on their relationship after decades of working together.
Ant told how they have ‘both changed’ over the years and sometimes have to ‘give each other space’ because ‘maintaining their friendship is not self-evident’.
He said: ‘We started working together when we were thirteen, and we became friends very quickly. But you know, we’re both, we’re both 49 this year.
‘We’re clearly not the same people we were when we were thirteen. So throughout our careers, we’ve both changed. But it is not self-evident to maintain that friendship.
“Sometimes you have to work with friendships, and sometimes you have to make compromises and sometimes you have to give each other space and time and whatever.”
The interview comes as Ant told his Britain’s Got Talent co-stars that he is ‘extremely happy’ to become a father.
According to The sun Ant had already confided the wonderful news to Dec after weeks of speculation.
Anne-Marie, who has two children from her previous marriage, is said to have already had a five-month scan, allowing the couple to confidently let the cat out of the bag.
Ant will become a father for the first time in June as his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, is pregnant. It will be Ant’s first while Anne-Marie has two children from her previous marriage (LR Anne-Marie, Ant, Dec and Ali)
A source told the publication: ‘This is the news everyone wanted. Ant and Anne-Marie are extremely delighted.’
‘It’s no secret that Ant has always wanted children, but the fact that it might never happen for him was something he had unfortunately come to terms with.’
They went on to describe Ant as a ‘wonderful, loving father’ to Anne-Marie’s children and said the couple did everything they could to keep the news a secret for as long as possible.
Adding: ‘To have a child two years before his 50th birthday, with the love of his life, is a dream for Ant.’