Ant McPartlin is "so much more grateful" for his TV career with Declan Donnelly after his break from the spotlight.
Ant & Dec
The popular TV duo were separated back in 2018 after Ant took time away to deal with addiction issues after being convicted of drink-driving as he caused as he crashed his family car in London and Ant says the experience has made him treasure the Ant & Dec partnership even more.
He told The Times newspaper: "You know, we had a bit of a break in our career a couple of years ago and then got back together.
"We’re so much more grateful for everything."
Ant added that he considers his return to TV to be something off a miracle after overcoming addiction to alcohol and painkillers.
Asked if his career recovery was miraculous, the 'Saturday Night Takeaway' presenter said: "Yes, for me personally.
"Just to be doing work again with my best friend and enjoying myself and having a laugh."
The pair also opened up on the challenges of making the latest series of 'Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway' with the UK gripped by the coronavirus pandemic and had times where they doubted themselves.
Dec said: "There were so many times we’d thought, ‘God, is it actually going to happen? Are we going to be able to make this studio-based live entertainment show?’
"It was not just having a live audience. It was, ‘How do we get guests there? How do we surprise people? How do we give away holidays when nobody can travel anywhere? How can we make this show in the current restrictions?’
“The planning and the preproduction that went on were so intense. It went on for such a long time. So when we finally walked out on that first show we were like, ‘We’re live and we’re in people’s living rooms and there’s people there looking back at us.’ It was quite overwhelming."
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