Dec Donnelly, 50, has described fatherhood as 'the best thing' in his life, revealing a regret that he did not start a family earlier. The TV presenter, who shares daughter Isla, seven, and son Jack, three, with wife Ali Astall, 47, made the comments on the Hanging Out With Ant and Dec podcast.
Donnelly said: 'It's the best thing ever. I wish I'd done it earlier and I wish I'd had 10.' His co-host Ant McPartlin, also 50, agreed, calling parenthood 'the absolute best'. McPartlin and his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 47, welcomed son Wilder in May 2024; he is also stepfather to her teenage daughters.
McPartlin said: 'I feel like I had a really great introduction to fatherhood because I got to be able to talk to them straight away... And then when Wilder came along, I got to do all of the baby and toddler stuff that I didn't get to do with the girls. So, I've had the best of both worlds really.'
The duo both agreed that parenthood was their 'biggest achievement'. McPartlin added: 'It changes you for the better. All of the sleepless nights, the early mornings, the tiredness is worth it. It's the greatest thing I think you can do. It far surpasses anything that we've achieved in our career.'
Donnelly admitted he was 'a bit worried' before his son was born about whether he could love another child as much as his daughter. He said: 'I thought, 'God, am I ever going to be able to love him as much as I love Isla?' ... And then he came along and you realise then, oh no, you don't halve anything. You get double the love. You reach another level within you that you just find more love for this other little thing.'
