A week after the birth of his son, Wilder, proud dad Ant McPartlin has hit the red carpet at the Theatre Royal in London’s Drury Lane to attend The Prince’s Trust and TKMaxx & Homesense Awards with Declan Donnelly. The pair are hosting the event for the twelfth time, celebrating inspirational young people and volunteers who help others throughout the country.
Ant looked thrilled to be a new dad as he smiled and joined the awards recipients entering the theatre, alongside celebrity attendees including Martin Freeman, Roman Kemp, Ellie Simmonds, Stephen Graham and Damian Lewis. It’s the 20th anniversary of the awards, and Ant and Dec are not only hosts – they are both Prince’s Trust Goodwill Ambassadors and have also launched the Making It in Media programme that helps young people gain experience and opportunities in the media industry.
The 48 year old presenter and new dad was seen for the first time in public a few days after the birth of his baby son, when he was spotted walking his dogs in the sunshine on Monday 20 May. Baby Wilder was born the week before on Tuesday 14 May, and Ant and his wife Anne-Marie Corbett announced the happy news on social media.
Ant shared a picture of himself holding his newborn, and wrote: "Welcome to the family. Wilder Patrick McPartlin. Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54am. Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess."
The post was liked more than 700,000 times, with celebrity friends including Holly Willoughby writing: "Congratulations… welcome to the world Wilder… such beautiful news…" and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden adding: "Oh my gosh, this is just the most amazing news. Congratulations.”
The photo also showed off a tattoo on his upper arm, which is of a large tree. Within the branches, five names are hidden, each of which holds a special meaning for Ant. The names are Amzie, Daisy, Poppy, Bumble, Milo and Hurley - Ant's step-daughters and dogs.
While Ant is currently on paternity leave, he did attend the BAFTA TV awards on Sunday 12 May and is back on TV with Dec for the Britain’s Got Talent semi-finals. He’s also reportedly given his long-time TV partner the important role of godfather to little Wilder. Speaking about Dec's important new role, a source told OK!: “He can’t wait to take on the role of godfather and he’s promised to take his duties very seriously.”
