By Claire Roberts
British children of the 90s have grown up with Ant and Dec. From the early days of 'Byker Grove' to their 10-year stint on 'I'm A Celebrity', they've rarely been off our screens. Not that we'd have it any other way. This comedy duo - a modern-day Morecambe and Wise - have forged their own brand of family-friendly entertainment, riffing off their extraordinarily close relationship and shared sense of humour.
Most of us are hazy about their real names (Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly), and people still get them muddled up. But in the end, they are, and will always be, inseparable Ant and Dec, the double act with that old-school showbiz knack of appealing to all. Everyone from my six-year-old daughter to my octogenarian granny laughs at their jokes, even if they don't know who's who.
Now in their late 30s, they have grown up on camera. Once tracksuited teens, now they rock a suit like a pro. No strangers to black tie dressing - last week Ant and Dec were crowned best entertainment presenters for the 12th year running at the National Television Awards - the Geordie duo have bagged many magazine spreads over the years. But tomorrow, the March issue of Tatler magazine hits the newsstands, featuring Ant and Dec as you've never seen them before.
Dressed in dickie bows and dinner jackets, here they are, wearing those trademark cheeky expressions - and a heap of jewels. For this is not a traditional interview (although the shoot is accompanied by a quippy Q&A by Tatler's social editor, Violet Henderson). It is Ant and Dec modelling jewellery by Garrard, Dior, Boodles, Adler, Tiffany & Co., Graff, De Beers, Louis Vuitton and Asprey.
Humour and high-end jewellery are not natural bedfellows, but Ant and Dec carry off the carats with ease. Pictured above fooling around with a massive emerald and diamond ring by Graff, an impressive Adler diamond earring and other jewels by Boodles and De Beers, see the feature in full in the March issue of Tatler, on sale from Friday, 1 February 2013.
