Declan Donnelly has admitted he accidentally struck Ant McPartlin’s stepdaughter’s boyfriend with a golf ball, leaving him understandably embarrassed.
Honestly, it really got to me hearing the presenter – he’s around 50 – talk about it on the newest episode of ‘Hanging Out With Ant & Dec.’ You could just feel how awful he felt sharing the story again.
Anthony McPartlin, age 50, is married to Anne-Marie Corbett and considers her two daughters, Daisy (18) and Poppy (16), to be his own.
Dec explained that he was about 75 to 80 yards from the green and decided to use a sand iron. He planned to slightly open the clubface, lift the ball, and land it softly on the green.
I slightly opened the clubface, causing the ball to curve to the right. Unfortunately, that’s where two of my playing partners were standing.
Okay, so I took a swing and sent that golf ball flying – definitely heading towards where those folks were standing! Naturally, I yelled ‘Fore!’ That’s basically golfer code for ‘heads up, it’s coming your way, please duck!’ It’s just common courtesy on the course to warn people.
He hesitated for a moment before lowering his head, and when the object finally struck him, you could clearly hear it hit the back of his head.
An ant, clearly annoyed and far from the golf course, reported that Dec had struck someone while playing golf – specifically, her daughter’s boyfriend.
I found out about his injury last night when he came home holding the back of his head and clearly in pain. He seemed upset but tried to reassure me, saying, “Don’t worry, you got the sensitive spot.”
Dec explained that it didn’t produce the expected gentle sound, and he regretted it deeply. He said he’d never experienced that issue before and felt terrible about it.
Ant playfully questioned whether his daughter’s boyfriend was still conscious, joking that he might need to check on him by repeatedly asking, “Are you alive? Hello?”
Dec explained that their chances of success were ruined because he ended up on a team with his teammate Ant’s daughter’s boyfriend.
‘Of course we lost. One of us went to pot after that,’ he said.
Honestly, I was relieved to hear Ant say he didn’t play! He explained that if he had played, he would have been my partner, and he definitely didn’t want that – and he was right, of course.
It comes after Ant revealed he wants to have ‘loads more children’ with Anne-Marie.
The presenter, 50, welcomed a baby boy, Wilder, with Anne-Marie in 2024.
Ant said he’d love to have more children, even though he’s often exhausted. He really enjoys his older kids and finds his two-year-old particularly amusing.
In February, Ant McPartlin and his wife Anne-Marie moved from their £6 million house in Wimbledon to a more private £10 million home with gates in Cobham, Surrey.
Ant considers Anne-Marie his biggest support, calling her his ‘rock and lifesaver.’ She helped him get sober after he publicly battled an addiction to alcohol and painkillers, and he’s now recovered.
He says he’s happier than ever before, and credits their simple, fulfilling lifestyle for his joy.
In 2018, as Ant McPartlin focused on his recovery, he credited his then-wife with being a major source of support.
After leaving the hospital, I retreated to the countryside, renting houses where I could be alone with my dog. I intentionally disconnected from everything – no television, no social media, and no other distractions. I simply did nothing at all.
I didn’t really follow the World Cup; I was focusing on my own well-being and recovery. I’ve celebrated my birthday in Australia for the past sixteen years, so I decided to spend it there with Anne-Marie this year. It was a wonderful experience.
Ant and Anne-Marie first connected in 2017 when Anne-Marie started working for Ant as his assistant on television projects.
She was once married to Scott, but they separated in October 2017. Interestingly, that was also the year Ant McPartlin ended his marriage to Lisa Armstrong, whom she knew and worked with.
Ant has consistently stated that he and Anne-Marie started dating after they were both free from other relationships, describing her as truthful and kind.
2026-07-24 11:37