Everything that went down with I’m A Celeb’s Ant McPartlin’s 2018 scandal, explained

Ant and Dec are basically the UK’s undefeated presenting champs. They’ve been on our screens forever, starting as teenagers on Byker Grove in 1989 and going on to host Britain’s Got Talent, Saturday Night Takeaway, and of course, I’m A Celebrity, which returned on Sunday for its 25th series. However, everything almost fell apart for the duo in 2018, when Ant McPartlin’s drink-driving scandal and addiction struggles forced him off TV.

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Even though the pair reunited in 2019 and have been back to business ever since, Ant has been open about what actually happened.

Ant, now 48, began taking prescription painkillers in 2014 after a serious knee injury, followed by a botched operation the next year. Speaking to The Times in 2017, he explained he was initially prescribed drugs like co-codamol and codeine before being moved onto stronger, opiate-based painkillers.

When the damage in his knee turned out to be worse than expected, he was prescribed tramadol, something he says is where “the real problems started”. He later admitted he’d been using both prescription and non-prescription drugs, often washed down with alcohol.

In March 2018, things escalated. Ant was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after a three-car collision in south-west London, which left several people with minor injuries. The following month he pleaded guilty, was fined £86,000, and received a 20-month driving ban.

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The day after the crash, Ant announced he was stepping away from all TV commitments and checked back into rehab, saying he needed to focus on getting well. Dec later said he told Ant he’d “give everything up if he could just be happy again”.

During Ant’s absence, Holly Willoughby stepped in to present I’m A Celebrity alongside Dec, while the 2019 series of Saturday Night Takeaway was cancelled entirely.

Ant returned to TV in January 2019 when he rejoined Dec to host Britain’s Got Talent. The pair went on to win Best Presenters at the National Television Awards for the 18th year running, something Ant called a “genuine shock”.

Off-screen, Ant began a relationship with Anne-Marie Corbett, his former personal assistant. They married in 2021 and welcomed their first child together, a son named Wilder, in May 2024.

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Featured image credit: Instagram/@antanddec, ITV.