Pictures: Ant & Dec's 25 years in showbiz
- Published
The nation's favourite Geordie presenting duo Ant & Dec have been given a Landmark prize at the National Television Awards to mark their 25 years in showbiz. We take a look back at their careers so far...
Ant & Dec (full names Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly) met aged 13 on the set of CBBC children's drama Byker Grove, which was set in a youth club in Tyneside. They played the characters PJ and Duncan, becoming friends both on screen and off!
Byker Grove began in 1989 and ran for 17 years. Can you spot PJ and Duncan in this group photo from 1990?
The boys left Byker Grove in 1994 for a pop career - scoring a total of 12 UK top 20 singles in the 1990s! Their best-known hit was Let's Get Ready to Rhumble, which returned to the charts last year and hit the number one spot after being performed on Saturday Night Takeaway.
Ant & Dec also moved into presenting - landing their own comedy sketch show on CBBC called, err, The Ant & Dec Show! In 1998, they began fronting the popular Saturday morning show SM:tv Live on ITV.
It wasn't long before Ant & Dec began to take over Saturday night TV - with a BBC One show called Friends Like These, where two teams of mates went head-to-head in a series of challenges.
Football fans Ant & Dec sang England's official World Cup song in 2002, called We're on the Ball. It reached number three in the charts.
Ant & Dec have even had their own movie! They starred in sci-fi comedy Alien Autopsy in 2006.
Ant & Dec are now firm TV favourites - fronting several major shows such as Britain's Got Talent, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Prince Charles has praised the duo's "warmth and empathy towards charitable causes [and] their viewers" and the pair's "deep friendship".
This year Ant & Dec's hit show Saturday Night Takeaway will be back on our screens - along with a countrywide arena tour! Here's to the next 25 years!