Declan Donnelly — things you didn't know about the TV star

Declan Donnelly is now one of the most popular TV presenters in the UK, alongside his best friend and co-host Ant McPartlin. The pair have been friends and colleagues for over 30 years, starting out on the popular TV series Byker Grove in the 90s where they played PJ and Duncan. 

The duo has gone on to present some of the most popular shows on telly, including I'm A Celebrity and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain's Got Talent. 

Here are a few facts you might not know about the TV favourite…

Declan Donnelly has six brothers and sisters

Born and raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Dec is the youngest of seven. He has three sisters, Camelia, Patricia and Moira and three brothers, Martin, Eamonn and Dermott.

Dec married his manager

Dec is married to talent manager Ali Astell, who is originally from Newcastle, Australia (not the UK one!). They married in 2015 after knowing each other for over a decade, during this time Ali worked as Dec's manager. 

He told the Daily Express: "We always hung out. When she was single and I was single we'd go out for dinner on Valentine's Day together. Last year we went out as a couple. It was a little strange because we've had a working relationship for so long." 

Dec considered becoming a Catholic priest

Dec's brother Dermott is a Catholic priest, and it was a career that he also considered pursuing because of his religion. He told the Daily Mail: "It was something I thought I could do and maybe I should do. But I went through the process and realised that I couldn’t do it."

Dermott has set up a youth outreach programme aimed at introducing disadvantaged youngsters to the Catholic Church, which Dec supports, and also told the Daily Mail: "I don’t advertise that I’m Dec’s brother, but the kids always seem to know. It bridges the gap between me and them."

Dec is related to pro wrestling promoter Dixie Carter

During an appearance on ITV's DNA Journey, viewers were shocked to discover that Dec is related to Dixie Carter, a wrestling promoter from Texas. It was revealed that they're related on Dec’s father’s side, sharing a great-grandfather, and the team was able to track their ancestry and unite them for the first time in Ireland.

They were united in a pub where they finally got to meet, and Dec admitted: "It feels weird, you immediately have this kind of connection with them."

Dec is scared of birds

Despite hosting I'm A Celebrity and witnessing some horrible challenges involving creepy crawlies, it's actually birds that freak Dec out the most. 

According to The Daily Star, a 2017 Bushtucker trial involved a room full of pigeons that flapped around the campmates' heads as they searched for a buzzer, prompting Dec to exclaim: "Oh no. No, no, no. No way, that is my worst!"

Dec is a patron of Sunshine Fund

Both Ant and Dec are patrons of the charity Sunshine Fund, which supports children with disabilities across the North East of England. They also support Cash for Kids and The Alan Shearer Foundation, the latter of which was set up to directly support the Alan Shearer Centre in Newcastle: a highly specialist, disability, respite, residential and social provision for people with complex disabilities and acute sensory impairments.

In addition to this, when their single Let's Get Ready to Rhumble reached No.1 in 2012, Ant & Dec donated the single's success to the charity ChildLine.

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We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.