Television icons Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed the amusing and somewhat embarrassing details of an unlikely royal sleepover with King Charles at his Scottish residence, Dumfries House. The duo, both aged 50, were filming a documentary about the then Prince of Wales when they were invited to stay overnight ahead of their final interview.
An Unexpected Royal Encounter
During a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Ant recounted how their royal adventure took an awkward turn. "We were following the then Prince for a year for a TV show and got on really well with him," he explained. "When we were asked if we would like to spend the night at the house, we immediately said 'Hell, yes.' It was amazing and everything you'd imagine."
The situation became particularly memorable when Ant decided to try on the robe provided in his room. "I ran out into the corridor to find Dec and there was the Prince," Ant laughed. "He said 'Hello' and started talking to me about pruning roses. I was so embarrassed."
Royal Etiquette Breach
The entertainment didn't stop there. Dec added that their evening took another humorous turn when they decided to enjoy some wine in their room. "We then had wine in the room and got a bit noisy," Dec quipped. "We took it a bit far and were asked to be quiet!" The pair clearly tested the boundaries of royal hospitality during their unusual overnight stay.
New Podcast Venture
The conversation then turned to their new podcast, Hanging Out with Ant & Dec, which they launched as a creative solution to maintain their working relationship amid busy family schedules. Dec explained their motivation: "We both have small kids and live further apart, so if a podcast is in the diary, it forces us to get out and get together. We know each other inside out and we make each other laugh, so hopefully people will like it."
However, both presenters admitted their wives have expressed concerns about their openness on the show. Dec revealed that his wife Ali Astall and Ant's wife Anne-Marie Corbett worry the pair might be "too honest" and "give too much away" during their podcast conversations.
New Year's Resolution Confessions
The podcast's first episode featured candid discussions about New Year's resolutions, with Dec confessing his fitness goals had already encountered obstacles. The father of two revealed his attempt at dry January lasted just eight days before stress drove him to reach for a glass of wine.
"I've got to get fit and healthy in 2026," Dec said. "Well, I was doing dry January. The clue to how it's going was I was doing it. I lasted a week." He explained how his plans were derailed: "I had a very stressful day with the kids. They've been feral since New Year, and they went back to school for that first week. I thought a bit of discipline and routine would help, but they were feral all week and then the weekend was a disaster. So I was going to do dry January, but in the end, Saturday night, I put them to bed and opened up all the wine."
Ant, who has been sober for nearly eight years, responded with gentle humour: "Wow, well, well, well done. I'm proud of you. As someone who's been sober nearly eight years, I'm very proud of you. I'm proud of your eight days."
Parenting Motivations
Ant shared that his own resolution stems from parenting concerns. With his toddler Wilder beginning to talk more at 20 months old, Ant is determined to improve his vocabulary and limit his swearing. "Because Wilder is 20 months now and he's starting to say a lot more words rapidly, day by day," Ant explained. "He learned the word 'bumble' the other day, which is good - that's the name of one of our dogs. But he just came out with it: 'Bumble, Bumble.' I thought, 'I've really got to curb the swearing.' So I've just got to at least improve my vocabulary and think of other ways to discipline him."
To achieve this goal, Ant has downloaded an app that provides him with a new word every day, demonstrating his commitment to becoming a more articulate role model for his young son.
Recent Controversy
The revelation of their royal sleepover comes shortly after Ant and Dec faced criticism over promotional material for their new podcast. Last week, they were forced to remove a social media trailer that showed feet suspended in the air after fans accused them of being insensitive to suicide.
The promotional video, which had been shared with their 5.9 million followers, featured an opening image of shoes and trouser legs dangling above the ground alongside the caption: "Our brand-new podcast Hanging Out With Ant and Dec is launching on Thursday 22nd January."
Representatives for the presenters responded to the backlash: "We did not mean to cause any offence with this promo video and we are sorry if it has upset anyone. We have taken on board the comments and have deleted the video."
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer, while Hanging Out With Ant & Dec is available across all major podcast platforms, with video versions on Spotify and Belta Box.
