Dec Donnelly has finally addressed bizarre claims that he and his wife, Ali Astall, have secretly welcomed twins — only for his best friend Ant McPartlin to make the rumours even more chaotic.
The 50-year-old television favourite was forced to set the record straight after apparently convincing AI-generated adverts led some fans to believe that he had become a father again.
Dec, who already shares two children with Ali, revealed that people had even been sending him congratulatory messages after encountering the false stories online.
However, what began as a straightforward denial quickly descended into classic Ant and Dec mischief when Ant repeatedly encouraged his longtime presenting partner to play along with the claims.
The hilarious exchange unfolded during the latest episode of the pair’s podcast, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, which is available through their new entertainment platform, Belta Box.
In a clip shared on the official Belta Box Instagram account, Dec began telling listeners that he had “become” something — but he was interrupted before he could complete his sentence.
Spotting an opportunity for chaos, Ant immediately jumped in and declared: “A dad again?! Congratulations! Baby number three… on the way.”
A visibly amused Dec quickly rejected the suggestion, replying: “No, no.”
But Ant was not prepared to let the moment disappear so easily.
The I’m A Celebrity presenter jokingly told the podcast’s editors to cut the clip at that precise point, suggesting the misleading moment would encourage everyone to watch the full episode.
Dec then revealed that the misunderstanding was not entirely invented by his co-star.
Laughing, he explained: “It’s like those awful AI adverts. I get people keep sending them going, ‘Oh my, congratulations.’ No, we haven’t had twins. Do you remember?”
Ant immediately seized upon the word “twins”, asking his co-star: “It’s twins, right?”
Dec confirmed that twins were indeed part of the strange online claims — but only “according to AI”.
Rather than helping Dec shut down the story, Ant continued teasing him and suggested that he should simply say the rumours were true.
“Just say yes!” Ant urged before directly asking: “Dec, are you expecting twins?”
Caught between correcting the record and joining in with the joke, Dec hesitated before reluctantly answering: “I, I… yes.”
Ant then dramatically repeated the question, shouting: “Are you expecting twins?”
Dec again responded with a reluctant “yes”, before turning towards the camera with a deeply uncertain expression that made it clear he was not delivering a genuine announcement.
The moment delighted viewers familiar with Ant and Dec’s decades-long friendship and their habit of deliberately embarrassing one another.
However, beneath the comedy was a clear message from Dec: he and Ali have not welcomed twins, and the online stories suggesting otherwise were false.
Dec is already a proud father to daughter Isla and son Jack.
He and Ali welcomed Isla in 2018, four years after marrying in a private ceremony in Newcastle.
Their second child, Jack, arrived in 2022.
Although Dec generally keeps his family life away from the spotlight, he has occasionally spoken openly about how fatherhood transformed him and gave his life a deeper sense of meaning.
Earlier this year, the Britain’s Got Talent host discussed the enormous emotional impact of becoming a parent during another podcast conversation with Ant.
Dec admitted that no one can fully understand how dramatically children alter their life until they arrive.
“When they first come along, you don’t realise how much they change your life, but for the better, the absolute better,” he said.
He added that becoming a parent felt as though he had suddenly “discovered the meaning of life”.
While Dec described fatherhood as overwhelmingly joyful, he also revealed that he experienced private worries before the birth of his second child.
The presenter admitted that his bond with Isla had become so powerful that he feared he might not be able to feel the same level of love for another baby.
Dec explained: “I was a bit worried before Jack came along because I thought, ‘God, am I ever going to be able to love him as much as I love Isla?’”
His fears will be familiar to many parents preparing to welcome a second child.
Dec questioned whether his love would somehow have to be divided between his children, rather than expanded.
“Do I have to half my love to both of them?” he recalled wondering.
“Do they both get half of my love? Because she’s got it all at the moment.”
However, the Newcastle-born star said those anxieties disappeared after Jack’s arrival.
Instead of having to split the love he already felt for Isla, Dec discovered an entirely new emotional capacity within himself.
“You reach another level within you that you just find more love for this other little thing,” he explained.
The heartfelt admission offered a rare glimpse into Dec’s private family world and showed a more vulnerable side to the usually quick-witted entertainer.
His latest comments about the twins rumours were far more light-hearted, but they also highlighted the growing confusion that AI-generated celebrity stories can cause online.
Artificially created adverts and misleading posts can be designed to resemble genuine news reports, often using familiar photographs, dramatic headlines and fabricated quotes.
For celebrities such as Dec, the stories can spread rapidly enough that friends, fans and followers begin believing major life events have occurred.
In this case, the apparently false suggestion that Dec had welcomed twins became convincing enough for people to contact him personally with their congratulations.
Dec appeared to find the situation more absurd than upsetting, describing the adverts as “awful” while laughing about the messages he had received.
Ant’s response was equally predictable.
Rather than calmly helping his friend clarify the facts, he transformed the false claim into a running joke and repeatedly attempted to extract a dramatic confirmation.
Their exchange once again demonstrated the natural chemistry that has made them one of Britain’s most enduring television partnerships.
Ant and Dec first became household names as young actors on the children’s drama Byker Grove before building a hugely successful presenting career.
Over the years, they have fronted some of British television’s biggest entertainment programmes, including Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain’s Got Talent and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Their friendship, teasing and rapid-fire humour have remained central to their popularity.
Even during conversations about deeply personal subjects, the pair frequently shift between sincerity and comedy in a way that feels natural to longtime viewers.
Ant has also experienced the life-changing arrival of his first child.
He welcomed son Wilder with his wife, Anne-Marie Corbett, in 2024, meaning both members of the presenting duo are now fathers.
Their podcast has allowed them to speak in a more relaxed and informal setting than viewers usually see on their prime-time television shows.
The latest episode was another example of that unfiltered dynamic, with Dec attempting to correct misinformation while Ant actively made the situation more confusing for entertainment.
Despite eventually being pressured into jokingly saying “yes”, Dec’s original response was unambiguous.
He has not welcomed twins, and there is no genuine baby announcement.
For now, Dec remains a devoted father of two — while Ant remains more than willing to create a third-child frenzy whenever the opportunity presents itself.
