Inside Ant and Dec's friendship - rocky start, secretly related and drink-drive fury

dailystar.co.uk:

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have been gracing our television screens for decades and it is hard to imagine one without the other.Over the years, the dynamic Geordie duo has accumulated a loyal fanbase after first being cast for CBBC's show Byker Grove in 1989 as PJ and Duncan.The two always seemed inseparable but not many know they actually didn't get along at first.Speaking on the Jonathan Ross show in 2006, Dec said: "We didn't particularly like each other at first, I thought he was miserable.”"We've rowed a few times - we're quite competitive," Ant added.

However, their friendship soon blossomed after discovering their joint love for football, in particular Newcastle United.They soon became best pals and even lived next door to each other.Like any other friendship, theirs wasn't perfect and even included a rocky period when Ant was battling his demons.Below we take a look at the ups and downs of one of the most iconic friendships in British history.After being booted off Byker Grove, Ant and Dec decided to tackle the music industry and recorded two albums under their character names of PJ and Duncan.One of their most famous hits, Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble, was nominated for a BRIT Award.The pair eventually decided to leave the music industry behind and turned their attention to presenting.One of their first jobs in 1994 saw them co-host children's show Gimme 5 on CITV and just a year later they landed their own programme, The Ant & Dec Show, this time on CBBC.

The show won two BAFTAs in 1996.Their presenting careers really took off after landing roles on game show Friends Like These in 1999.