James Pallister and Dylan McKenna-Redshaw were the original Little Ant and Dec on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway but were sadly replaced a few years later
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are practically national treasures, having worked in broadcasting for more than 35 years. Beginning their careers on the BBC Children’s TV show Byker Grove, they moved on to present programmes including SM:TV Live and much later, Limitless Win, even managing a pop career along the way.
Winners of more than 40 National Television Awards, the duo are now best known for I’m A Celebrity and Britain’s Got Talent, which is back on TV tonight (Saturday) with the show’s grand final.
But another of their huge hits is Saturday Night Takeaway, which the duo quit after 20 years back in 2023. One popular element of the show included mini-me versions of the Geordie TV presenters, known as Little Ant and Dec, featured across several series.
In 2003, the presenting pair first embarked on a quest to discover a younger version of themselves. Eventually, James Pallister was found to portray Little Ant while Dylan McKenna-Redshaw took on the role of Little Dec when they were just nine years old. During their stint on the show, the lads interviewed celebrities such as Tony Blair, Will Smith, Katie Price and David Beckham.
They even had Katie Price don a fat suit, persuaded Ewan McGregor to teach them bagpipe playing and got Hugh Grant to sport a pair of enormous ears. On a shopping spree with Victoria Beckham, they cheekily attempted to recruit her son Brooklyn for their favourite football team, Newcastle United.
However, their run on the show was abruptly ended in 2006, with James and Dylan returning to their regular lives and school. The decision was made after the pair experienced a growth spurt, meaning they weren’t so little anymore.
And by the time ITV wanted to resurrect the mini-duo, James and Dylan were too grown-up and were subsequently replaced by Neil Overend and Haydn Reid in 2013.
James and Dylan, both from the North East, have pursued diverse career paths and are now unrecognisable from their days of TV stardom. James worked as a vehicle technician for BMW and went on to work for the RAC, where he has been employed for over a decade, most recently in health and safety as the HSEQ business partner. Meanwhile, Dylan has launched his own nutrition business, aiding individuals with weight loss, muscle gain, and sports performance. On his Instagram page he shows off his more-than-impressive physique and rippling muscles to the point that he’s unrecognisable from his former self.
In a previous interview, James expressed his passion for his job, saying: “I absolutely love my job. There’s nothing better than being out on the roads helping people who have broken down. I really pride myself on being able to fix most of the cars I go out to.”
The duo caught up with Ant and Dec over a pint in 2013. Dylan reminisced about their reunion, stating: “It’s always good to see Ant and Dec again. They were shocked when they saw us, it’s been a few years since we have caught up and we are much taller! It was a really good experience. Me and James used to joke with Ant and Dec. They were great teachers!
“Looking back I guess we were able to be more naughty and cheeky than they would have got away with. Times have changed. I don’t think I look like a Little Ant now but I really enjoyed the experience and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
When the duo first announced that the 2024 season of Saturday Night Takeaway would be their last, they took to Instagram to share a joint video statement. Ant began: “We love making Saturday Night Takeaway, but reaching the milestone of 20 series seemed like the perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath.”
Dec then said: “We still have a momentous 20th series to look forward to first so we will do our best to go out (for now) with a bang in 2024.”
They later said they wanted to spend more time with their families, rather than spending their weekends on a prime time TV show. Ant welcomed a baby boy called Wilder with his wife, Anne-Marie, in May 2024 and their final episode of the series attracted 5.3 million viewers.
Check out Dylan’s Instagram here, where he offers one to one coaching sessions. His website, The Power Effect, is here.
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