Declan Donnelly became emotional while reading a letter to his younger self on Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, ending the message with a direct note for the teenage version of Ant McPartlin.
The moment came in the latest episode of the duo’s podcast, titled “The Emotional Finale of Dec’s Diary & Ant’s Awkward Goodbye,” which was listed on Apple Podcasts as the final chapter of “Dec’s Diary.” The episode guide placed “Dec’s letter to 1994 Dec” just after the one-hour mark.
The Sun reported that Donnelly, 50, choked back tears as he reflected on leaving home, building a career with McPartlin and learning to value family, friendships and the parts of life that were easy to miss while work moved quickly.
Donnelly told his younger self to say hello to “1994 Ant” and remind him that “it will all be okay.”
Donnelly Looked Back at the Year Their Lives Changed
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The episode closed out a recurring podcast segment built around Donnelly’s 1994 diary. Apple Podcasts listed “Dec’s Diary: The Final Chapter” beginning at 56:44, followed by Donnelly’s letter to his younger self at 1:01:20.
In the letter, Donnelly looked back at the early period when he and McPartlin were moving away from home and stepping into a career that would take them far beyond their first work together. The Sun reported that he described that time as exciting, daunting, thrilling, intense and exhausting.
Donnelly told his younger self that he and McPartlin had not simply left home for a short adventure. Their lives had changed, and they would not return to exactly how things had been before.
His Message to Young Ant Brought the Hug
Donnelly’s voice broke as the letter moved from career memories to family, home and friendship. He told his younger self to go home as much as possible, to share success with the people who had given him his start and to appreciate them while he could.
The Sun reported that he told Donnelly, “Awww, but it turned out alright,” before the letter reached its final message for the younger version of Ant.
Donnelly then told 1994 Dec to pass along the note to McPartlin: remember he is “a great kid” and that “it will all be okay.” He also told them to look out for each other and enjoy the ride.
The letter ended with a comic turn, with Donnelly adding advice to buy Tesla, Apple and Bitcoin. The shift kept the segment from becoming entirely heavy, but the hug that followed made the friendship the center of the episode’s final stretch.
The Letter Put Their Three-Decade Friendship in Focus
Donnelly also used the letter to talk about friendships that last. He told his younger self to treasure real friendships because people would come and go, while the true ones needed to be looked after.
He pointed directly to his friendship with McPartlin, saying it would endure through “thick and thin” and be even stronger in 2026 than it had been in 1994, according to The Sun.
McPartlin and Donnelly first worked together on the Newcastle-set children’s drama Byker Grove, where they played PJ and Duncan. They later performed as a pop duo under those character names before becoming one of the U.K.’s most recognizable presenting teams.
The pair have since hosted major British entertainment shows including Britain’s Got Talent, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
The Podcast Gave Them a Looser Format
McPartlin and Donnelly launched Hanging Out With Ant & Dec earlier this year as part of their Belta Box digital brand. The Guardian reported in January that the series was created after the duo asked their audience what kind of podcast they wanted and were told listeners wanted to hear them simply spend time together.
Apple Podcasts describes the show as a place where “two best mates” with busy lives can catch up without scripts or time pressure. The listing says new episodes are released on Thursdays, with an additional episode on Mondays.