Declan Donnelly Confirms He And Wife Ali Astall Are Expecting Their First Child

Declan Donnelly has confirmed that he and wife Ali Astall are expecting their first child.

Rumours have been circulating for the past 24-hours or so, after a source revealed the information to a newspaper. Following the news, fans rushed to congratulate the happy couple.

Now, Dec has spoken out to thank fans for their kind words - taking to Instagram he shared a snap of he and Ali on their wedding day with the caption: "Just wanted to say thank you for all the lovely messages. The news has sneaked out a little earlier than we had hoped but Ali and I are delighted to be expecting our first child. Thanks for all the love, we really appreciate it"

They said: "They are both absolutely delighted to be expecting - especially as they have been trying for some time.

"This has come at a difficult time for them both, given everything that Ant is now going through and the pressure that has put on Dec in the past week.

"They have both always wanted a family but worried that it might not happen for them."

Dec and Ali have been married since 2014 and tied the knot at St Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Elswick with Ant as his best man.

Dec is set to return to work next week, while Ant is off to seek treatment after being arrested for drink driving, the Geordie will be leaning on Stephen Mulhern and Scarlett Moffatt to help him host Saturday Night Takeaway.

There was doubt whether the final few episodes would even go to air, but ITV wanted to honour its commitment to host the finale in America.

Executives were keen to keep the show on air, but agreed the decision would be left up to Dec, who has never worked without Ant since they started presenting together.

A source close to Ant and Dec said: "Dec is speaking to Ant throughout this process. But obviously Dec is in a bad state of mind because this is a situation where there are no winners.

"Dec made the decision totally alone, with the full support of ITV."