A TV documentary filmed in Ireland that delves deep into the family histories of Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly has reportedly been left on the cutting room floor.
It’s said that ITV bosses have chosen to shelve Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey as it features scenes of the best pals drinking.
Declan Donnelly’s family roots are firmly planted in Magherafelt and Dec has been back to Co Derry visiting family relatives on a number of occasions in recent years.
The best friends swapped London for Leitrim as they were spotted out and about swilling pints and poitin with the locals.
The Britain’s Got Talent hosts travelled around the county, stopping in Drumshanbo and Drumkeeran to film the history programme.
Following Ant’s drink-driving charge, it’s thought that the documentary, similar to BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, may never be broadcast.
A source told the Irish Daily Star: “Showing clips of him in a pub is not very fair bearing in mind they were filmed before anyone knew about the demons he was battling.”
Last week, Ant’s representative released a statement, saying: “Ant has decided to go back into treatment and step down from his current TV commitements.
“He has asked for time off for the foreseeable future.”
Ant was charged with drink-driving after being involved in a three-car collision and will appear in court next week.
The documentary followed the best pals on a journey to Ireland, with pubs playing a central role.
Despite growing up in Newcastle, in the north of England, Ant and Dec – full names Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – both have Irish heritage.
The Saturday Night Takeaway presenters’ families hail from Derry but moved to the UK city around 50 years ago.
Landlords say the lads were “good craic” and that they’d even been behind the counter pulling pints during filming.
The show was filmed in May last year, a month before Ant first checked into rehab to tackle addictions to booze and prescription pain killers following a botched knee operation.
The news comes after the revelation that Ant will be back on TV screens this weekend, despite stepping down from the final two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway.
But despite the fact that his best pal Dec will host the show alone – working without Ant for the first time – Ant will still make an appearance.
Bosses have decided, after much discussion, to air the rest of the pre-recorded Saturday Knight Takeaway sketch. That’s Knight with a K.
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