As I’m a Celebrity reaches its grand final Ant and Dec say their wives are their ‘worst critics’
They also reveal that fans sometimes try to sit with them while they're out having dinner
After 16 series, most reality shows would show signs of flagging.
But I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is not most reality shows. The long-running jungle juggernaut, which crowns its latest champion on Sunday, continues to go from strength to strength and hosts Ant and Dec reckon they know exactly why.
“We have such a laugh doing it and every year you just never know what you are going to get,” smiles Dec, 41.
“It always feels fresh,” weighs in Ant, also 41. “It never feels samey because you have different celebs every year.”
While it’s easier some years to predict who will win, the Geordie duo say there is one
thing all winners have in common. "Good people always triumph,” reasons Dec, a sentiment Ant seconds.
“If you are a nice person, you will be seen as a nice person on TV,” he says. “If you are a nightmare, don’t do it, because you can’t hold up the pretence for three weeks. You will get found out.”
Similarly, it’s Ant and Dec’s own reputation for being two of the most likeable lads in the business that has been the key to their continued success in what can be a very fickle industry.
But despite clearing up at awards shows year after year and recently being snapped up for another megabucks three-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, the boys point out they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.
“Sometimes I look at Twitter and people are slagging us off,” admits Dec.
“During I’m A Celebrity, we do the links and then we go on Twitter and tweet about the show while the highlights are playing.
"Most of the time we have good banter with the audience but we also come across the odd comment and think: ‘I’d rather not have seen that one.’ Sometimes it stings but not very often. Usually I’m like: ‘Oh, look at you with your 11 followers. You’re brave!’”
But there are two people’s opinions the pair genuinely care about – their wives, make-up artist Lisa Armstrong and agent Ali Astall.
“Lisa is my worst critic, she slags off everything I do,” jokes Ant. “No, our wives are in the industry, so they make valid points.”
“Yeah, sometimes I will watch a show back and turn to Ali and say: ‘What did you think of that bit?’ and she’ll be like: ‘It wasn’t very funny,’” reveals Dec. “But we try not to watch ourselves back because you can’t do anything about live TV once it’s done.”
Away from the cameras, Ant and Dec have managed to live an impressively private life with their significant others. “I always see celebrities moaning about privacy and I think: ‘It’s not that difficult if you really try,’” shrugs Ant.
“You don’t have to go to the opening of an envelope.”
“I think you are either that way inclined or you’re not,” sums up his on-screen sidekick.
“We are just generally quite private.”
They admit, however, that they sometimes struggle balancing their status as two of the most well-loved faces in the nation with their desire for quality time out of the spotlight.
“We’ll be out for dinner and people will just come over and sit with us,” laughs Ant.
“We have to be like: ‘Sorry, we are out with our family, would you mind leaving us?’ I think in people’s minds, though, they think it’s fine because we are approachable on the telly, so we have to negotiate our way through that a bit.”
That said, the lads know it’s a small price to pay for getting to do a job which, to this day, they still pinch themselves over.
“We love what we do and we still have fun doing it,” grins Dec. “In fact, it’s the only thing we know how to do!”
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