Just two days after Ant and Decs emotional farewell to Byker Grove,the boys were busy making plans for their new career in pop.

Someone from Telstar had already been in touch,the boys weren't sure who it was as they had wanted to speak to their parents,not them.

They thought this was very strange,but all became clear when it was explained to them that they were still under eighteen years old,so would need parental consent for what the record company planned to do with them.

So Anne,Fonsey and Christine had all got together with Ant and Dec to discuss any developments.The three parents had all agreed they would do everything in their power to help them progress in their careers.

One day,Ant was hanging out at Decs house once again,both listening intently to the conversation Fonsey was having with the head of the record company.

"Uh huh,ok,let me have a think about it and discuss it with my wife and the lads" Fonsey wasn't giving much away as usual.He then passed the phone to Dec.

"Really?wow,yeah great" Dec replied enthusiastically down the line.

By this point Ant couldn't hide his frustration any longer.It was one thing keeping quiet when Fonsey was speaking,but now he had no idea what Dec was talking about either.

"What Dec?what's great?" He asked impatiently.

Fonsey held his finger up to his lips to signal Ant to keep quiet so Dec could concentrate on the conversation.

"Sorry" Ant mumbled quietly.

Thankfully Dec finished the call and hung up just a few minutes later.

"Well?" Ant enquired.

"Well" Dec stated "as they want us to record 'Tonight I'm free' they said they could hire a recording studio up here in Newcastle for the day,or...."

"Or?" Ant cut in.

"Or" Dec continued "we can go down to London and record it in their studios there.They'll put us up in a hotel for as long as we need it although as it's only one song,it probably wouldn't be for more than a couple of days,but they said they'll make sure we get some free time to explore the city"

"Ah man,that'll be brilliant" Ant laughed "imagine that,two Geordie lads let loose on the streets of London,they'd better watch out"

"Haven't you forgotten to tell Ant one very important point Declan?" Fonsey pointed out.

"Er yeah" Dec sighed "we have to have a chaperone,so it won't be just us"

"And that chaperone will be me" Fonsey smiled "and your mother of course"

"Oh ok" Ant replied politely "that will be lovely though,we can all see the big smoke together"

"Do you think your Mam could come too Ant?" Fonsey enquired.

"I'm sure she would have loved to" Ant pondered "but I know she won't be able to get the time off work.I know she'll be happy for you to take us though"

"Yeah,I'll give her a ring as soon as she's in from work" Fonsey smiled.

"Er,did they say when we're going?" Ant asked.

"Yep" Dec replied excitedly "in two weeks time"

""Wow,that's soon" Ant answered "can't wait"

"Me neither" Dec smiled.

"You've changed your tune young man" Fonsey laughed "coming around to the idea of being a popstar now are you?or is it just the thought of a trip to London?"

"Might be" Dec laughed,his Dad just knew him too well "so can we Dad?can we go?"

"I don't see why not lad" Fonsey smiled "as long as your mother agrees"

So two weeks later Ant,Dec,Fonsey and Anne were packing their luggage into Martins car once again as he prepared to drop them off at the train station for the three and a half hour trip down south.

Telstar had offered to fly them down,but Fonsey had declined,preferring to take the train instead,much to Ants relief.

As they all waved to Martin as he pulled away from the station,the boys were beyond excited and just wanted to get on their way.

They were soon happily chatting and playing games to pass the time on the journey.

"You been to London before Ant?" Fonsey enquired.

"Only once" Ant smiled "on a school trip to the HMS Belfast when I was nine"

"Ah yes," Fonsey smiled "that's a fine old warship,went there myself when I first arrived in England,that was a long time ago"

"It's huge" Ant laughed "me and my mate got separated from our class and got lost on it.Got in so much trouble with the teachers when they found us"

"I can imagine" Fonsey smiled "maybe we can go there again while we're here?I'm sure Declan would be interested in the history and all that"

They all laughed as Dec rolled his eyes.

"It was a great trip" Ant remembered fondly "the whole year stayed overnight in a youth hostel,took over the whole place we did.Was too far to do the coach journey in one day"

"Your poor teachers" Anne laughed "imagine having to stay in a youth hostel with that many rowdy nine year olds"

"Ah,we weren't that rowdy" Ant smiled "well,I wasn't anyway"

"Your school never did anything like that did they Decky?" Anne enquired.

"Nah" Dec shrugged "Newcastle cathedral was about as far as we went"

As they pulled into Kings cross station mid afternoon,Decs excitement began to get the better of him.

"We're here,we're here" he squealed "come on let's go"

"Shall we at least wait until the train has actually come to a stop Decky?" Anne suggested.

"Well,it will in a minute" Dec pointed out while watching other passengers put their coats on and retrieve their luggage from the overhead shelves, ready to disembark "look other people are getting ready,let's go"

"Calm yourself lad" Fonsey laughed "we'll be getting off and be on our way soon enough"

Just a short time later,they were indeed exiting the train,amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy London station.

"So many people" Anne stated.

Nobody bothered replying as she was kind of stating the obvious,a capital city was rarely empty.

As they came through the ticket barrier,Fonsey immediately spied a smartly dressed man holding up a sign with a telstar logo saying Anthony McPartlin/Declan Donnelly.Fonsey immediately led everyone over to the waiting man who proceeded to lower the board.

"Hi,I'm Alphonsus Donnelly,this is my wife Anne and my son Declan" he paused for a moment looking down at the board "and this is Anthony McPartlin" nodding in Ants direction.

"Nice to meet you all,I'm Ken,your driver,I'll be showing you to your hotel today" he said politely as he shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you too" they all chorused before being shown to the car.

"Oh my God,really?" Dec exclaimed as he laid eyes on the stretched limousine taking up a large percentage of the parking bay outside the station.

"Must be" Ant replied as he watched Ken open the boot.

Fonsey went to help Ken pile the suitcases inside.

"No sir,I'll do that" Ken insisted, quickly taking the small suitcase from Fonsey and piling it neatly along side the others "you just get in"

Fonsey followed Ken as he opened the car door for them to get inside.

All four of them looked around incredulously.

"Never been in a limo before" Dec smiled as he stretched himself out comfortably.

"Don't think any of us have" Anne smiled.

"This is the life" Ant laughed "could get used to this"

"Look at this" Dec observed as he opened a small cabinet revealing drinks and glasses.

"Please help yourself" Ken invited as he pulled away from the station to begin the short journey to the hotel.

"Look,they've got whiskey,vodka,gin,rum and Ooh look,little bottles of wine" Dec stated amazed.

"And little cans of coke and lemonade" Fonsey replied sternly,handing a miniature can of coke each to his son and Ant.

"Here we are" Ken announced as he

pulled up outside the Strand Palace Hotel a while later.

They all looked up at the impressive building in the heart of Londons west end.

"Nice" Dec smiled.

Ken led the party of four into the hotel lobby,inviting them to take a seat on the plush sofas while he checked them in at reception.

Telstar had actually booked them in for a four night stay so they would have at least two days at leisure to do what they liked.

"All done" Ken smiled "the porter will show you to your rooms.You have two rooms next to each other,obviously you two sharing the double" he nodded towards Anne and Fonsey "and you two in the twin room" he smiled at Ant and Dec.

"Great,thank you so much" Fonsey smiled.

"You're in the heart of the west end here,so enjoy it" Ken said "You're in walking distance of most of the main attractions.The river is just over there,Buckingham palace,piccadilly circus that way and if you fancy a bit of shopping,oxford street is up there"

Ant and Dec couldn't help giggling as Ken waved his arms around while pointing out the directions.

He then proceeded to hand something over to Fonsey.

"All expenses are obviously charged to Telstar,so this credit card is for you to use when you go out.We have an account with the hotel,so any meals or anything you have here will also be charged to us,so make the most of it"

Fonsey looked slightly perplexed,he was a proud man and not in the habit of accepting 'handouts' as he saw it,from anyone.

"Umm,thanks Ken" he muttered awkwardly "it's very kind of them,but it won't be necessary,we can pay our way"

Dec sighed at his Fathers predictability,he saw this one coming a mile off,but the fact of the matter was,they probably couldn't pay their way.This trip had been arranged with only two weeks notice after all and Fonsey had to work alot of overtime during that two week period just to ensure he would be allowed the time off.It hadn't been easy for his employer to find cover for him.

Although he never would have admitted it,Dec desperately wanted Fonsey to accept the credit card,he really wanted to enjoy this trip and he unfortunately hadn't managed to save much of his Byker Grove wages,choosing instead to spend it every week on new clothes and the like.

"Well,take it anyway" Ken smiled,tucking it discreetly into Fonseys hand "then it's there should you need it"

Ant and Dec grinned at each other as Fonsey thanked Ken and placed the card in his jacket pocket.

"And if it's any consellation Mr Donnnelly" Ken continued "it's like this for all our artists and their families.We pay for everything,then once those artists produce hit records,they pay us back tenfold,so please don't feel bad about it ok?it's a system that works for everyone,so please just accept it with our good wishes and enjoy your stay"

"Ok,thank you" Fonsey replied,even he was now coming around to the idea of a few days in London with absolutely no expenses to worry about.

"Might want to put that in your wallet" Anne advised "don't want to lose it"

"Yeah" Fonsey took the credit card out of his pocket and did as his wife suggested.

"Well,boys" Ken turned to face Ant and Dec "I assume you know the schedule?tomorrow is the day you're recording,so I'll be here at 8am sharp to pick you up and take you to the studios"

"8am?" Dec groaned "that early?"

"I'm afraid so" Ken laughed "time is money and all that"

"Don't worry Ken" Anne Smiled "we'll make sure they're up"

"Great" Ken replied "you will no doubt be at the studios all day,recording a track can be a slow process,but once you're done tomorrow,you'll have a couple of days to yourself and I'll be at your beck and call if you need a ride anywhere"

"That's great" Fonsey smiled as he held out his hand to shake Kens "thank you so much"

Anne,Ant and Dec followed Fonseys lead,shaking the helpful drivers hand and thanking him.

"I'll give you a tip boys" Ken grinned "if you do eat at the hotel restaurant,or even just go for a drink,make sure you try the hot chocolate,best in London that is,you get a huge dollop of sweet,luscious cream and a flake on top"

Ant and Dec couldn't help giggling at being treated like five year olds,but they had to admit,that hot chocolate did sound good.

"We'll definitely give it a try Ken" Ant laughed.

Ken ushered the boys in towards him,as they leant in curiously,he whispered "perfect after a night out on the town"

Ant and Dec nodded knowingly,realising Ken was obviously speaking from experience.

After saying their goodbyes to Ken,the porter appeared immediately to show the foursome to their rooms.

"Very nice" Anne stated as they all entered the double room "come on let's see yours then "

They all followed the porter next door and into the twin room where Dec immediately threw himself on to the nearest bed.

"I bagsy this one" he smirked at Ant.

"Dec shoes" Anne snapped,glancing at the porter,feeling a twinge of embarrassment as her youngest child sprawled himself all over the bed

"Sorry Mam" Dec replied sheepishly as he casually kicked his footwear off.

After the porter had left,Fonsey turned to everyone else.

"How about we all freshen up and have a rest,then go out somewhere for dinner later?then we can explore the west end,everything stays open late around here"

They all agreed they would meet at 7 o'clock.

Once Anne and Fonsey had left their room,Ant and Dec started to investigate it more thoroughly.

"Look Ant a mini bar" Dec announced excitedly as he opened the small cabinet door.

"No booze though" Ant observed.

"No,bet Mam and Dad have got some though" Dec poured.

"I'd imagine they have" Ant laughed.

"Ooh look,chocolate buttons,want a packet?" Dec offered,passing a bag to Ant "I'm starving,can't wait for dinner"

Ant took the small treat and moved over to the large window of the eighth floor room.

"Look at that view Dec" he smiled while gazing around "we're overlooking the River Thames and look,there's Big Ben and the houses of parliament over there"

"Yeah it is an amazing view" Dec agreed.

Both boys stayed silent for a few minutes,just taking in the breathtaking view.

"You know what Ant?" Dec smiled.

"What?" Ant replied,having been brought abruptly out of his thoughts.

"This is it" Dec continued "today London,tomorrow Paris,then Rome,New york,Los Angeles and anywhere else we want to be.The world is our oyster and I definately know one thing for sure"

"What's that then?" Ant asked curiously.

Dec turned to him and smiled.

"We're gonna make it!"