ITV Im A Celebs Dec Donnellys family life and siblings including tragic loss

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! fans will know him best for being one half of the cheeky Geordie duo that present the show, but away form our screens Declan Donnelly lives a very different private life that is worlds away from his cheeky on screen persona.

The 49 year old star, who first shot to fame on Byker Grove all the way back in 1990, is the youngest of seven siblings, with all of his family preferring to remain out of the spotlight following his older brother Dermott’s death in in 2022.

Dermott, a prominent Catholic priest based in County Durham, sadly died at the age of 55 in July 2022, after he unexpectedly collapsed.

Father Dermott was Dec’s eldest brother, alongside his other siblings Patricia, 59, Eamonn, 58, Martin, 57, Moira, 53, and Camelia, 49, and the close knit family are very rarely seen and photographed together – the only notable sighting was on sister Moira’s 50th birthday party, and of course at Dermott’s funeral.

Here, we take a closer look at Dec’s rarely seen family life, including some of the rare images shared by the star on social media alongside his siblings.

Parents

Dec was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1975 to parents Alphonsus and Anne Donnelly, after moving from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in the 1950s.

Sadly, Dec's father Alphonsus died of cancer in 2011 and it is also very rare to see Dec and his mother Anne in pictures together.

Despite this however, one rare image of Dec and his mum does exist from 2017 when Dec was appointed an OBE by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, alongside his best pal Ant McPartlin, with his proud mum on hand to celebrate the milestone achievement.

In addition, in 2019, Dec’s mum actually appeared on TV when she joined Stephen Mulhern on In For A Penny.

Siblings

Despite having six older siblings, very few of Dec’s brothers and sisters have ever been publicly seen with the star with only his brother Dermott and sisters Anne and Moira, ever having been snapped with their famous sibling.

Patricia, Eamonn, Martin, and Camelia manage to maintain a low profile, with no pictures appearing online or on Dec’s social media accounts of any of them.

The most prominent of all Dec’s siblings however, was his late brother Father Dermott Donnelly, who even officiated his little brother’s wedding to Ali Astall in 2015.

Speaking candidly about his close bond with his brother, and how he had even considered following in his footsteps, Dec previously admitted: He said: “Growing up was like The Waltons but in Newcastle.

“We all lived in a council house in Cruddas Park in the West End. The house had three bedrooms. You don’t need to be a Maths genius to work out that three bedrooms and nine people equals a bit of a squeeze."

“The four boys were in two sets of bunk beds in one room, the three girls were in another and my mam and dad had the third room."

Dec continued: "My mam and dad, Anne and Alphonsus, came to Newcastle from Ireland in 1958.

"You’d often find the Donnelly clan at the Tyneside Irish Centre on a Saturday night and that was where I had my earliest performing experiences.

“Later on my brother Dermott trained to be a priest. When I was about 14 I did briefly consider following in his footsteps.

"Then, one day, I got the bus home from school and it was full of lasses from the local girls’ school, Sacred Heart. I knew right there and then that the priesthood wasn’t for me.”

Sadly, Demott passed away last Summer, leaving Declan and the rest of his family utterly heartbroken.

Wife

Another very important person in Dec’s life, is of course his wife Ali Astall, who he married in 2015.

The two met when Ali worked as Dec’s manager for over a decade before they got together, with Ali still continuing to work as a talent manger to this very day.

Ali currently works alongside Ant McPartlin’s wife Anne-Marie Corbett at celebrity agency James Grant Management, where, aside from Dec, she has worked with the likes of Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby.

The couple started dating in 2014 and tied the knot in Newcastle in 2015, with Ant as best man.

Reflecting on his singledom before settling down with Ali, Dec cheekily admitted: "It was one of those things. I thought, God! It is really hard to meet girls.”

"People would always try and set me up, which was awkward. You can't set me up on a blind date because she will automatically know more about me.”

In a stroke of luck however, by dating someone already in the entertainment industry, just like Ali, it meant that the couple were able to understand and easily navigate the perils of maintaining a relatively private life while still in the public eye.

Kids

Following his marriage to Ali, Dec later went on to become a proud father to two children, daughter Isla, 5 and son Jack, 1.

Sharing the news of Jack’s birth in 2022, Dec wrote: "Shortly before 10am yesterday, 23.7.2022, Ali and I welcomed the arrival of our son, Jack Anthony Alphonsus, a very welcome ray of light. He is wonderful and Isla is beyond excited to be a big sister!"

The youngster’s middle moniker is a name he now shares with his dad's long-time pal, Ant McPartlin and also a nod to his father who passed away in 2011.

While his second middle name is a tribute to Dec's dad Alphonsus Donnelly, who passed away in 2011.

In Ant & Dec’s book, Once Upon a Tyne, Dec also opened up about his daughter and becoming a dad for the first time, when he said: "Becoming a dad has completely transformed me. At first, like all expectant parents, I didn't truly understand how much it was going to change me.

"I just thought it was another little person coming to live in the house… It opened up a whole other side to me, a side I didn't know existed.

"I felt a love that I didn't realise it was possible to feel. Everything I do, every day, is for my daughter now."

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