Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly admitted they were once issued with a strict request from King Charles’ staff while spending the night in Dumfries House. The mischievous presenting duo revealed the story on The Graham Norton Show, reflecting on an ITV programme they filmed in 2006 that followed Charles, then Prince of Wales, for a special production marking 30 years of The Prince’s Trust.
The charity, now renamed The King’s Trust, supports young people under 30 to start their own businesses. Ant McPartlin, 50, recalled how well they got along with Charles during filming. He said he and Donnelly, also 50, “got on really well” with the Prince, describing the experience as both surreal and memorable.
The pair were offered the chance to stay overnight at the historic Scottish estate ahead of their final interview for the programme. McPartlin said: “We were asked if we would like to spend the night at the house ahead of the final interview. We were like ‘hell, yes!’ It was amazing and everything you’d imagine.”
He also shared an amusing encounter with the future king during the stay. “I tried on the robe that was in my room and ran out into the corridor to find Dec and there was the prince. He said ‘hello’ and started talking to me about pruning roses. I was so embarrassed.”
Donnelly added that their night in the royal residence included a little indulgence before staff were forced to step in. “We then had wine in the room and got a bit noisy. We took it a bit far and were asked to be quiet.”
The then Prince Charles led the consortium that bought Dumfries House in 2007, securing it and its furniture for the nation through his charitable foundation and ensuring it was owned by a trust, while also serving as a centre for traditional skills education.
The revelation comes following the launch of their new podcast, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec. The Geordie presenters have opened up about why they decided it was finally time to start a podcast.
Dec explained that the idea came about because the pair no longer spend as much time together. This, he said, is largely due to the demands of fatherhood and the fact that Ant has moved further away. He said: “We’re now dads to very small children…the little ones especially take up a lot of time and effort and energy. I love them dearly, but we don’t hang out as much as we used to. Ant’s moved house now, geographically we’re further away from each other than we’ve ever been.
“So we don’t get the chance to hang out as much and talk rubbish anymore so we decided to come up with the idea of doing a podcast to sit together and talk some rubbish and let you join in too.”
Dec has two children with his wife Ali Astall, daughter Isla and son Jack, with the former born in 2018 and the latter coming later in 2022. Ant has a baby son Wilder with his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, alongside co-parenting her two teenage daughters from a previous relationship.
