"What kind of dog are you going to get?" Dec asked Ant excitedly a few days later "wouldn't it be great if we both had dachshunds?"

"Nah" Ant grinned "I want a big dog"

"Like what?" Dec asked curiously.

"Don't know yet" Ant replied "but me and Lisa are leaning towards a labrador"

"Ah ok,well those are lovely dogs too" Dec smiled.

"Yeah,they are" Ant nodded "big and soppy"

"Can a labrador and a dachshund be best friends though?" Dec laughed "might look a bit odd"

"No odder than me and you being best friends" Ant winked.

And so just a few days later,Ant and Lisa had already found a puppy that was ready to be rehomed and were welcoming him into their fold.

"This" Ant announced proudly as he introduced Dec to the chocolate labrador "is Hurley"

"Hurley?" Dec enquired.

"Yeah,what do you think?" Ant smiled "I wanted to name him Bullwinkle,you know...Rocky and Bullwinkle but Lisa was having none of it"

"That would have been ace" Dec laughed.

"Yeah,it would" Ant nodded "but we both liked Hurley,so that's what we settled on"

"I like it" Dec smiled as he knelt down to stroke the cute puppy "it suits him,hello Hurley,who's a lovely boy then?"

"Can't wait to take the pups out on walks together" Ant smiled "it's going to be so nice"

"Yeah,it will be" Dec agreed "still got a while yet though"

"Yeah" Ant nodded "once they've had their vaccinations done,we're all set to go,will probably just be around the garden first though,until I've got some training in"

"No problem" Dec replied "we can do it together"

"Anyway" Ant smiled,about to change the subject "our big birthdays,it's all booked,can't wait for it"

"Me neither" Dec grinned.

Ant and Dec had decided to have a joint fortieth birthday party in October.As Decs birthday fell in September and Ants was in November,it only made sense to have the celebration half way between the two.

Dec and Ali had decided to spend his actual birthday in Portugal.

It was a place they loved and both Ant and Dec had bought holiday homes there,although they would eventually turn out to be a poor investment that they would have to give up on.

Until then,they would make the most of the apartments.Dec had insisted that Ant and Lisa come along too,which they were only too happy to agree to.

The place had the most amazing golf course,which the boys made the most of every time they visited.That was absolutely fine with Ali and Lisa,who were quite happy to laze around the pool drinking cocktails.

Decs actual birthday was surprisingly quiet by the boys standards,but he didn't mind,he was quite happy just going out for a lovely meal with Ali,Ant and Lisa in the warmth of a Portuguese evening,he knew he had the party in October to celebrate properly and Ant would be celebrating his own birthday in Australia while filming for I'm a celebrity as usual,so he undoubtedly would be having a great time.

"We need to get you back to work" Ant laughed as they all clincked their glasses together in a fancy restaurant "a month in Australia,now a holiday to Portugal just a couple of weeks later,you must have forgotten what it's like to get off your bum and do something?"

"There'll be plenty of time for that as soon as we get back" Dec smiled "not that long till I'm a celebrity"

"Yeah,another month in Australia" Ant pointed out.

"Yep" Dec grinned "bring it on"

"And you've abandoned that poor puppy already" Ant laughed.

"Shut up" Dec shook his head playfully "Mam is having a great time looking after him and having our house to herself,you know how she likes looking after things,that's what she's good at"

"Yeah,she'd still be looking after you if you had your way" Ant replied.

"Don't need her to" Dec beamed "I've got this one here to do that now"

He leant over and gave Ali a peck on the cheek.

"Anyway,you can talk" Dec frowned "you've left Hurley too"

"I know" Ant laughed "I'm just kidding ya Decs,both of our Mams are having the time of their lives back in London,looking after their new 'Grandsons' and probably throwing wild parties at our expense"

"You never know" Dec smiled "they've been sneaky before haven't they?need I remind you of our lifetime achievement award?"

"Yeah" Ant laughed "cheeky mares.I bet they do see the puppies as their new Grandchildren too"

"Probably" Dec nodded "well,I do see Rocky as my baby,so I can live with that"

"Yeah,me too" Ant replied.

As the party date in October came around.The Roof Top Gardens venue in Kensington that Ant had booked,was soon bursting at the seams with their friends and family.

The press had somehow got wind of where the party would be held,but Ant and Dec didn't care.So what if they were photographed going into the venue?or coming out?although they hoped they wouldn't be too worse for wear or some of the pictures were likely to come back and haunt them for the rest of their lives.

They had learned a long time ago,not to let any unflattering photos upset them,it wasn't worth the bother.It was their special night and no one was going to spoil it.

Ant had suggested a Back To The Future theme and Dec was more than happy to go along with it.They even managed to get Belinda Carlisle to serenade them and Black Lace to perform their cheesy eighties hit 'Agadoo'.

Towards the end of the night,Boyzone singer Ronan Keating also managed to get the boys to join in with singing one of his songs to the delight of the crowd.

Drinks flowed and a lavish spread of food was put on.As predicted,there were more than a few guests who had one too many drinks,as did Ant and Dec,especially Dec,although that was the norm for him and everyone expected it.So when the party came to an end,he did in fact give the waiting press the pictures they wanted.

A few of the die hard revellers decided to carry on with the party back at Ants house.

Dec was ready for his bed,but was never one to miss out on any kind of celebration,so,as tired as he was,he happily went along,although by the time they all got back to Ants,everyone was definitely running out of energy.

So it was more a case of a few mates sitting around chatting and starting to sober up.Lisa had already gone to bed,after giving the guys downstairs strict instructions to be quiet or they would feel her wrath if they dared to wake her up.

Ali was already back at her and Decs house,which just left Ant,Dec and a handful of their mates sat in the living room.

"I can't believe it" Dec frowned.

"What's that?" Ant enquired.

"That I'm forty" Dec stated unhappily.

"I'm not" Ant grinned "I'm still thirty nine"

"Well,not for much longer" Dec pointed out "you'll be joining me in a few weeks and you'll find out just how depressing it is"

"Nah" Ant smiled "age is just a number,you're as old as you feel"

"I feel ninety" Dec grinned.

"Ha" Ant laughed "we all have days like that"

"But seriously" Dec sighed "where does the time go?only seems like five minutes since we were running around the set of Byker Grove,singing that bloody awful song..."

"And being blinded" Ant interrupted.

"God,that's right" their good friend Jonathan joined in the conversation "what was that song called?"

"Tonight I'm Free" Ant and Dec answered together.

"It was terrible" Jonathan laughed.

"Yeah,alright Johnny" Ant replied "we'd rather forget about that if you don't mind"

"Like most of the country" Jonathan winked.

Everyone went to bed exhausted,but happy.As usual,a few mates stayed over at Ants place,until they let themselves out the next morning before Ant had even surfaced from his bed.As tempted as Dec had been to just crash there for the night as well,he managed to make the short walk back home to his wife.

Before Ant and Dec could fly out to Australia for that years I'm 'I'm a celebrity' they had one more commitment to fill.

They had been asked to interview Prince Charles for a documentary about the Princes Trust charity which was celebrating its fortieth anniversary and would be broadcast the following year.

Ant and Dec couldn't believe they would actually be staying over at the Princes scottish home,Dumfries House and as they were shown to their rooms by the butler,they were like giggly schoolboys.

"Wow" Dec marvelled,as he looked around his huge room "just look at this Ant,what's yours like?"

"Pretty much the same" Ant grinned "You know we're going to have to nick something as a keepsake don't you?"

"Oh definitely" Dec giggled "there'll be some posh candleabras here somewhere"

"Yeah right" Ant laughed "I'd like to see you try and get past the security guards with those tucked in your pockets"

"Ok,toilet roll then" Dec stated.

"Maybe" Ant nodded "but in all honesty,I'm just happy to be here,it's such an amazing place"

"Yeah" Dec agreed "I wonder if Charlie boy will invite us to his room for a night cap?he might have my favourite green tea"

"That would be awesome" Ant replied "but we probably should have an early night tonight as we've got to be up early tomorrow to interview His Royal Highness" Ant suggested.

"Yeah,good idea" Dec nodded "I know it's only afternoon,but I'm just gonna chill in my room for the rest of the day,call Ali then call it a night"

"Yeah,me too" Ant replied.

"You're going to call Ali?" Dec winked "say hi from me"

"Give over will ya" Ant laughed "I'll see you in the morning Decs"

"Well,pop over if you get bored" Dec smiled.

By late afternoon,Ant couldn't resist the urge for a cigarette any longer.Unfortunately he hadn't managed to kick the habit yet,much to Decs annoyance.

Ant had made himself very comfortable in his luxurious bedroom,having already got changed into his dressing gown and slippers the minute he'd got back from seeing Dec.

He doubted very much anyone would be around,so intended to just sneak downstairs quickly for a cigarette without bothering to get dressed.

"Hello Anthony" a well spoken voice came as Ant exited his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"Oh...er...hello there...umm Charles" Ant grimaced "I mean Prince Charles...sorry...sorry,I mean Your Royal Highness"

"It's ok Anthony" Prince Charles smiled "you can just call me Charles"

"Ok,yeah,thanks" Ant mumbled,embarrassed as he came to the realisation that he was facing the future king of England in his dressing gown.

"I was just pruning the roses" Prince Charles casually informed him "it's quite mild for the time of year,although some bloom all year round"

"It is mild" Ant nodded politely "I was just popping out for a bit of fresh air"

Ant cringed to himself.He was actually lying to Prince Charles,could this get any worse?

"Enjoy your walk then" Prince Charles smiled.

"I will" Ant replied "it's really beautiful here,I might go and explore your wonderful gardens"

"You do that" Prince Charles nodded "my room is just next door to you,so no doubt we'll bump into each other again"

'Fucking great' Ant thought to himself,he'd better make sure he was immaculately dressed at all times whenever he was outside his room from now on,in case of any more embarrassing encounters with royalty.

Ant had suddenly lost the urge to have a cigarette,but couldn't keep this little story to himself.

"Decs?Decs?" He knocked on Decs bedroom door loudly and entered before even being invited in.

"Ant?what's wrong?" Dec asked curiously as his flustered friend entered the room.

Dec was lounging casually on the king sized bed,channel hopping through what was being shown on television.Ant quickly flopped down beside him on the bed.

"Oh my God" Ant covered his face with his hands "I'm so embarrassed"

"Why?" Dec enquired curiously "what happened"

"I just ran into him just outside here" Ant shook his head despairingly.

"Who?" Dec asked.

"Charlie boy of course" Ant frowned.

"So what?" Dec asked confused "it's his gaff,it's very likely we're going to run into him at some point and the butler did point out that his room was right near ours,so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" Ant exclaimed "Decs look at me,look at what I'm wearing.I just came face to face with the future king of England in my dressing gown and slippers"

"Oh yeah,good point" Dec began to laugh hysterically at the thought.

"It's not funny Declan" Ant snapped as Dec found the incident more and more hilarious.

"It really is" Dec replied while wiping tears of laughter from his eyes "poor Charlie"

"Never mind poor Charlie" Ant frowned "what about poor me?I'm never gonna live this one down"

"Yeah,that's true" Dec giggled "I'll be dining out on this one for years,can't wait to tell Ali"

"You're an idiot" Ant moaned,although he was now beginning to see the funny side.Decs infectious laugh usually had that effect on him,so he was eventually laughing about the situation as much as Dec was.

"Don't worry about it Ant" Dec grinned "I'm sure he's seen people in their dressing gowns before"

"Probably" Ant nodded "that was a first for me though"

"Just please tell me you've got some pants on under there?" Dec looked Ant up and down "he'll be scarred for life if he got flashed by your little sausage"

"Shut up" Ant laughed "and yes I've got my boxers on"

"Good" Dec smiled,although he knew he would have found this little story even funnier if Ant was going commando underneath his robe.

The interview went well the next day and Ant and Dec were extremely proud of their contribution to the fortieth anniversary celebrations.

The year ended off nicely with another brilliant series of I'm a celebrity and the boys were looking forward to getting started on rehearsals for the new series of Saturday Night Takeaway after Christmas.

It was welcome winter viewing for the British public as usual.Something to look forward to on Saturday nights during the long cold evenings.

Once it kicked off,the ratings were through the roof as usual.

Dec was having the time of his life,he and Ant loved this programme so much,it was their baby and they were extremely proud of it.

Life was good.Dec was happy,Ant was happy...or so Dec thought.

That was until one day when he went to find Ant after they'd wrapped up the live show.He just wanted to chat with Ant about how it had gone,as they always did.

He made his way to Ants dressing room.Ant had disappeared as soon as the cameras had stopped rolling,which was a bit odd,but dec wasn't worried,he probably just needed to go to the toilet or something.

But Dec was stopped in his tracks as he approached Ants dressing room.He wasn't sure what the sound coming from inside was.

It sounded like someone desperately trying to stifle a scream!