Ant McPartlin returned to work for Britain’s Got Talent‘s first live semi finals at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on Monday.
The new father, 48, reunited with TV partner Declan Donnelly, also 48, for rehearsals after confirming he had welcomed his first child, son Wilder, with wife Anne-Marie two weeks ago.
Ant cut a casual figure in a blue jacket and jeans as he was spotted arriving at the theatre with a script in hand.
Meanwhile Dec donned a dark sweater and trousers and followed his pal while sipping from a takeaway cup.
Announcing the news Ant shared a Instagram snap sweetly cradling his baby boy writing: ‘Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54am. Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess!’.
Ant McPartlin, 48, (L) returned to work for Britain’s Got Talent ‘s first live semi finals at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on Monday (pictured with Declan Donnelly)
The new father (L) reunited with TV partner Declan Donnelly (R) also 48, for rehearsals after confirming he had welcomed his first child, son Wilder, with wife Anne-Marie two weeks ago
Announcing the news Ant shared a Instagram snap sweetly cradling his baby boy writing: ‘Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54am. Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess!’
Ant was soon flooded with messages from pals including Jamie Redknapp, Davina McCall and Alesha Dixon, who were delighted to see the star finally become a dad, after he publicly discussed his desire to be a parent.
The baby will be Ant’s first while Anne-Marie has two children, Poppy, and Daisy, from her previous marriage.
It comes after Ant set the record straight and addressed fans’ accusations that he ‘snubbed’ his dog Hurley in his new tattoo.
The presenter took to X to thank fans for their ‘kind messages’ after announcing the birth of his son.
In his post, Ant also addressed fans’ concerns that he’d ‘snubbed’ Hurley in a new tattoo paying tribute to his family after the dog’s name appeared to be absent from the design.
Ant wrote: ‘Hey all, I just wanted to say thank You so much for the kind messages of love and well wishes for our baby Wilder. He’s doing great.
‘Glad you loved the tattoo as well. For all you dog lovers who asked why my beloved Hurley wasn’t on the family tree..he was!! He was just covered by our newborn. All my love, gratitude and heartfelt thanks A.’
Ant then shared a snap showing the full tattoo on his shoulder, with Hurley’s name visible on the tree design.
Ant cut a casual figure in a blue jacket and jeans as he was spotted arriving at the theatre with a script in hand
Dec donned a dark sweater and trousers and followed his pal while sipping from a takeaway cup
Ant and Anne-Marie pictured together in 2021
Ant’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong has returned to social media for the first time since the presenter welcomed Wilder.
The makeup artist shared a cryptic post on her Instagram Stories stating that ‘behaviour never lies’.
Over the weekend Ant hit back at speculation he’d snubbed his beloved dog Hurley – who he shares with ex-wife Lisa – from a new tree tattoo paying tribute to his family.
It’s also been reported that Lisa has vowed to fight for custody of their pet Labrador as the fallout of their messy break-up continues to spill.
Lisa re-posted the quote, originally said by Winston Churchill, that stated: ‘I no longer listen to what people say, I watch what they do. Behaviour never lies.’
She also shared a snap of four labradors, including her beloved dog Hurley, along with the caption: ‘Got the band back together.’
Lisa’s previous post had been to mark the fifth anniversary of her father’s death, just 24 hours before Ant announced the arrival of his son.
It comes after Ant set the record straight and addressed fans’ accusations that he ‘snubbed’ his dog Hurley in his new tattoo
Ant’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong has returned to social media for the first time since the presenter welcomed Wilder
The makeup artist shared a cryptic post on her Instagram Stories stating that ‘behaviour never lies’
She also shared a snap of four labradors, including her beloved dog Hurley, along with the caption: ‘Got the band back together’
It comes just hours after reports surfaced that Lisa has vowed to fight for custody of their pet Labrador as the fallout of their messy break-up continues to spill after the birth of his first son.
The Saturday Night Takeaway star split from Lisa in 2018 after 11 years of marriage and went on to marry his former personal assistant, Anne-Marie, in 2021.
Ant’s baby news is said to have shattered Lisa, who remains childless at 47 following her acrimonious divorce from the presenter.
Ant shared an Instagram snap sweetly cradling his baby boy, revealing he’d been born earlier that day, writing: ‘Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54am. Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess!’
Since the split, Lisa has had one constant source of support by her side – loyal Labrador Hurley. She shares joint custody of the beloved canine with Ant but reports say she wants sole possession of him – something he is said to have resisted.
But she has reportedly vowed to fight on for sole custody of the chocolate Labrador, who regularly features in her Instagram posts, where she refers to him as ‘Mama’s baby boy’.
Ant – known best as one half of presenting duo Ant and Dec alongside Declan – and Lisa adopted Hurley in 2013 following struggles to have a child of their own.
Ant is said to have refused to surrender full custody of Hurley to his ex during their reported £31million divorce battle, reportedly telling lawyers: ‘She can have anything she wants – except the dog.’
The arrangement led to the TV presenter’s chauffeur ferrying the dog between the two of them so they did not have to see each other.
Anne-Marie was said to have expressed a wish to care for the Lab full-time in February – and friends close to the make-up artist say that desire is stronger than ever following the birth of Ant’s firstborn.
‘She felt very betrayed by both Ant and Anne-Marie and felt that none of this has been handled sensitively, especially the announcement of the baby,’ sources have told The Sun.
‘The one thing that has got her through it and been by her side constantly is Hurley – she doesn’t know what she would do without him. He’s more than just a dog to her and has been a lifeline at times.’
They added: ‘Ant obviously loves Hurley as well but he now has a lot of other responsibilities and things going on in his life and Lisa can’t see why she can’t have full custody of him. She needs Hurley by her side.’
The former couple reportedly agreed to take it in turns to look after Hurley, with the arrangement seeing Ant’s chauffeur ferrying the dog between them so they did not have to see each other.
But the news of Wilder’s birth is said to have hit Lisa hard – particularly after she spent years supporting Ant during a tumultuous period that saw him battle a prescription drug addiction and a drinking problem.
His struggles with alcohol only became public in March 2018 – two months after he and Lisa divorced – when he was involved in a car crash and charged with drink-driving, for which he was fined £86,000.