Declan Donnelly has revealed he accidentally struck Ant McPartlin's step-daughter's boyfriend on the head with a golf ball during a game.
Donnelly, 50, described the embarrassing incident on the latest episode of the "Hanging Out With Ant & Dec" podcast, recounting how he felt terrible afterwards. McPartlin, also 50, is married to Anne-Marie Corbett, and considers her daughters Daisy, 18, and Poppy, 16, as his own.
According to Donnelly, he was approximately 75 to 80 yards from the green and decided to play a sand iron shot. He explained his intention was to open the club face slightly to land the ball gently on the green, which would naturally direct the shot to the right. However, two playing partners were positioned in that direction.
"As I hit the ball, it went up in the air and headed in their general direction," Donnelly said. "I shouted 'fore right', which means you should duck. One of them delayed his duck a little bit. He finally ducked and honest to God, you heard as it hit him on the back of the head."
McPartlin, who was not present during the golf game, commented on the incident, noting, "Dec has hit someone on the golf course. Not just anyone. My daughter's boyfriend. I heard about this when he got in last night with rubbing the back of his head in a lot of pain. Bless him. In a lot of pain. He said, 'It's all right. You hit the soft bit'."
Donnelly admitted that the impact did not sound like it had hit a soft area. "I felt and still feel so bad. I've never done that before," he stated.
McPartlin playfully questioned if his daughter's boyfriend was conscious, asking, "Should I go and check just to make sure, just 'Are you alive? Hello. Are you alive? Are you alive?'"
Donnelly also mentioned that the incident may have affected their team's performance, as he was partnered with McPartlin's daughter's boyfriend. "Of course we lost. One of us went to pot after that," he said.
McPartlin responded, "Well, I'm pleased I didn't play because if I played, I would have been your partner and that would have been me. It's true though."
McPartlin recently welcomed a son, Wilder, with Anne-Marie in 2024. He has previously expressed a desire to have more children, stating he would "definitely" have more if he weren't already tired. He noted he has "really good, fun older ones" and a "funny" two-year-old.
The couple relocated from Wimbledon to a home in Cobham, Surrey, in February. McPartlin has described Anne-Marie as his "rock and lifesaver," crediting her support during his past struggles with alcohol and prescription painkiller addiction. He has stated he is now "the happiest he's ever been."