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Celebrity

07th Nov 2019

Dec Donnelly has opened up about Ant McPartlin’s struggle with addiction

Rebecca O'Keeffe

Ant and Dec

Fairplay for the honesty.

Ant and Dec have been through a lot together.

The pair have been friends since they were 13, and have seen eachother’s ups and downs.

One of the more recent battles they faced was Ant’s battle with alcohol.

Last year,  Ant entered rehab following a drink-driving crash, and it was tough on their friendship.

During their upcoming ITV documentary, Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey, Dec Donnelly has opened up about how Ant’s struggle with addiction affected their friendship.

“It has been a tough couple of years and it has tested the bond we have shared since we were 13.”

“I was incredibly angry at the start, so angry. Disappointed that he didn’t ever come to me and say ‘I am struggling, I need you’ because that is what I would do if the shoe was on the other foot.”

Dec Donnelly

Dec went on, reflecting on times he thought their friendship would end.

“And he never came to me and that hurt me a lot. There was a point where I thought that that was it. There were times where I wasn’t sure it was going to survive.”

He added:

“Times where you didn’t know it needed to survive or you wanted it to survive. All the while he was away I wasn’t sure where his head was at or if he was going to say ‘none of this is for me.’

“I didn’t know what he wanted to do and for the first time in 30 years I had to think about what I was going to do and if I was going to go out on my own. The thought of that filled me with fear.”

Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey will air on ITV this Sunday at 9pm.