Ant And Dec Catch Out Fans With April Fool's Day Joke

Ant and Dec have caught fans off guard with their April Fool's Day prank, having told people they'll now be 'officially known as Dec & Ant' in a move that's fairer on 'the little guy'.

Many people feared for the worst as they opened their social feeds to find 'big news' from the serial pranksters, with a post reading: "Some big news for you guys.

"After 30 long years together we've decided a change is needed, and so without further ado, we can announce we'll now be officially known as Dec & Ant. It's only fair on the little guy."

An accompanying statement from Dec said: "I'm over the moon, we agreed back in the Byker days that he'd take the first 30 years and I'd take the rest.

"It's really the only reason I've been hanging around with him for this long."

A statement from Ant added: "I've had a good run, but it's time to hand over the reins.

"Hopefully this step back will give me more time to focus on some of my neglected hobbies... Such as stamp collecting and Medieval battle reenactments."

A large number of people admitted they fell for the joke, saying they couldn't imagine the name switch.

Meanwhile, others said they thought Ant and Dec were announcing their split, and were so shocked that it almost gave them a 'heart attack'.

One person tweeted: "Wow I panicked then that you was retiring. Thank god that's not true! Not sure though Dec and Ant has the same ring to it hahahaha."

PA

Another person wrote: "You got me! My heart almost stopped on reading the first part! Happy April Fool's Day."

A third said: "Well let's just say I quite frankly had a heart attack when I woke up to 'some big news for you guys, after 30 long years together...' haha, happy April Fool's Day."

Another added: "When I read that 'change is needed' I got a mini heart attack thinking that you're doing something even more horrible but my heart fought through when I read the rest.

"Then I already knew it was a joke, but realised the date only when coming to the comments."

Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, UK Entertainment, Ant and Dec

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman