It is well known that Declan Donnelly, TV presenter and the ‘Dec’ half of Ant and Dec, has roots in Derry, however, he wasn’t aware of just how deep those roots went.
While featuring along with his Saturday Night Takeaway partner, Ant McPartlin, on Capital Radio at the weekend, Dec was presented with an unexpected challenge.
The ‘I’m a Celeb’ presenter listened to three callers, who each claimed to be a member of Dec’s family and he was asked which one was a real relative.
Dec heard from Tom, a supposed Geordie second cousin, Kaz, a could-be-distant Irish cousin and Ann, an unlikely Australian daughter.
It was revealed that Kaz from Dublin is related to Dec through her grandmother and the TV presenter’s uncle, who married Kaz’s grandmother’s sister.
A drawn-out family tree shows the lineage of both families and where they intersect, with some genealogical and geographical notes on both families for context.
A simplified, animated, graphic is shown as well to demonstrate to the audience the connection between the ex-Byker Grove star and the Capital Radio producer.
Both grew up in Desertmartin in South Derry, with Kaz producing a picture showing Dec’s mother and father, the latter of whom passed away some 13 years ago.
Another picture produced by Kaz shows Dec’s late father, Alphonsus, and Kaz’s grandmother, Teresa McAllister, working in a hay field, a task Kaz says they did together “often”.
The TV presenter was overcome with emotion at the sight of these old photos of his dad and struggled to hold back the tears at seeing his later father again.
