Entertainment
Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway star Little Ant is all grown up with roadside recovery job 18 years on from TV debut
Little Ant looks very different
He found fame as a cheeky 10-year-old interviewing celebrities and cracking jokes on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Now, James Pallister – aka Little Ant – is all grown up and works as a roadside recovery driver.
James is now 28 and works for the RAC as a patrolman, and has done since 2015.
He rose to fame one half of the adorable duo, Little Ant and Dec, alongside Dylan McKenna-Redshaw on the hit ITV show.
Playing host Ant and Dec’s younger counterparts, the pair interviewed everyone from former Prime Minister Tony Blair to the Beckhams.
But James has a family of his own now, as he works across the Sunderland and Durham area and lives in Chester-le-Street with fiancé Nicole and their two sons, aged one and three.
James appeared on the show 18 years ago (Picture: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
He ‘absolutely loves’ his job and was even the proud face of RAC patrol recruitment, meaning a 70 foot photo of him appeared on the side of the the firm’s HQ in the West Midlands.
Speaking about his life after childhood fame, he said (via The Sun): ‘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.’
As for his co-star, Little Dec, Dylan set up his own nutrition business which helps people with weight loss, muscle gain and sports performance.
The pair had Ant and Dec in stitches (PIcture: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
The duo actually reunited with big Ant and Dec earlier this year, and Dylan said the presenters were ‘shocked’ by how much they had grown.
‘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,’ he said.
He added that he and James used to ‘joke with Ant and Dec,’ whom he called ‘the greatest teachers.’
The Geordie duo have seen huge success (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Looking back, I guess we were able to be more naughty and cheeky than they would have got away with.’
James doesn’t reckon he looks much like Ant nowadays, but ‘really enjoyed’ the once-in-a-lifetime experience he had.
James and Dylan were a fan favourite on Saturday Night Takeaway, before they were replaced in the 10th series in 2010 because they outgrew their roles – quite literally.
More: ITV
After bidding goodbye to TV life in 2006, Neil Overend and Haydn Reid filled their shoes.
Ant said they loved their Little Ant and Dec segment on the show, and they might search again for two new Littles and do the item again.
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