Declan Donnelly nearly quit showbiz life to become a priest but didn’t like the idea of abstinence

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I’m A Celebrity’s Declan Donnelly nearly quit showbiz life to become a priest (Picture: Getty Images)

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! could have looked very different as Declan Donnelly has revealed he wanted to quit the showbiz world to become a priest.

Yes, Ant and Dec as we know it might have ended up as just Ant on his own if the star’s partner in crime had followed in his Godfather’s shoes.

According to The Mirror, the 44-year-old revealed his former plans in his new autobiography with Ant McPartlin, called Ooh! What a Lovely Pair.

An extract obtained by the publication reads: ‘After that crushing rejection, I made a momentous decision: that was it – I was going to retire from acting. I was eleven.

‘ Later on, when I was about fourteen, I did briefly consider following in his footsteps, and the footsteps of my Godfather, Father O’Connell, and becoming a priest.’

However just a few years down the line, he realised that abstinence was not for him.

Ant and Dec
I’m A Celeb could have looked a whole lot different (Picture: Rex)

‘Then I got the bus home from school one day and it was full of lasses from the local girls’ school, Sacred Heart,’ he pressed. ‘I knew right there and then that the priesthood wasn’t for me.’

Dec has since gone on to tie the knot with his wife Ali Astall, who he shares two-year-old daughter Isla with.

The new release will look back over the duo’s 30-year span on TV – covering their Byker Grove days to when they first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent.

Britain's Got Talent 2020 - Photocall
Who would have been Ant’s presenting buddy? (Picture: WireImage)

Ant said of the publication: ‘It is our way of giving people more than just what they see on TV, lifting back the curtain on our career so far and sharing the moments and stories that still make us smile.’

While Dec added: ‘It has, until now involved a lot of tea (green for me, builders for Ant), chocolate biscuits and laughter.

‘In this final period of writing it is mostly video calls with dogs on our knees, but still trying to make each other laugh – which in essence is what we’ve spent the last 30 years doing!’

The pair recently reunited following the coronavirus lockdown for the BGT semi-finals, where they posed for a selfie in a Union Jack facemask.

Britain’s Got Talent continues September 5 at 8pm on ITV.

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