ITV is returning to a genealogy documentary with two of its biggest stars, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, after it was parked last year because McPartlin pled guilty to drunken driving.
Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey, produced by Voltage TV and Ant and Dec’s indie Mitre Television, originally was commissioned in 2017 as a 90-minute special.
But ITV put the film on hold as McPartlin grappled with personal issues including a drunken-driving charge, for which he eventually was fined £86,000 ($105,000) in April 2018.
But after McPartlin returned to British TV screens in 2019, ITV now is dusting off Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey. It will air before the end of the year – and this time it will be a two-part special.
Over the course of the documentary, the Britain’s Got Talent hosts will trace their bloodlines using their DNA to search their ancestral history. They will travel from Ireland to the U.S. on their mission, during which they will meet relatives they never knew existed.
Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey was commissioned by Siobhan Greene, ITV’s former head of entertainment, and Louise Major. The executive producers are Kathleen Larkin and Sanjay Singhal. Iain Thompson is the director.
“I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to historical events,” McPartlin said, “so to get the chance to research our family history using our DNA was too good an opportunity to pass up. What we find out is mind-blowing and nothing either of us could ever have imagined. It’s something that will stay with us both forever.”