Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are close to finalising a new £30m three-year contract with ITV, sources have confirmed. The deal, which represents a 20% increase on their previous £25m agreement, would extend the duo’s exclusive relationship with the broadcaster to 18 years.
The Geordie presenters are considered pivotal to ITV’s success as it faces competition from streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon. They currently front three of the channel’s biggest shows: Britain’s Got Talent, Saturday Night Takeaway, and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. The new contract is expected to be signed before they depart for Australia in January to film the next series of the reality survival show.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Donnelly said: “We are not on the dotted line yet but we want to stay and they want us to stay. It will have to be signed before we go to Oz because then we will be at the end of the year and we are fairly close.” An ITV spokeswoman added: “We have a fantastic, long-standing relationship with Ant and Dec, and we are of course keen for that to continue well into the future.”
Analysts have welcomed the impending deal, particularly after the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond to Amazon. Paul Richards of Numis Securities noted: “This is particularly the case following the defection of ... the dislocation this caused to Top Gear for BBC2.” The pair, who started their careers on the BBC’s Byker Grove, have been with ITV since 1998 and signed their first exclusive contract at the end of 2000.
The negotiations come as Simon Cowell nears a new three-year deal worth up to £150m to keep The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent on ITV until at least 2019. Cowell’s previous contract was valued at £140m-£150m, but ratings have slumped, prompting ITV to pay £50m to snatch The Voice from the BBC. Despite a low-rated first episode for the latest X Factor series, audience figures have since improved.
