Ant and Dec have spoken about their need to get their long friendship back on track after Ant took time out from their partnership.
While the much-loved Geordie duo say they are now in a good place, Declan Donnelly had been worried for their career following Ant McPartlin's much-publicised personal troubles.
He said he was left with 'career uncertainty' after his friend stepped back from their co-presenting duties.
And he had been adamant that he would never partner up in the job with another man in Ant's absence, with Holly Willoughby finally stepping into his pals shoes for 2018's I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here show.
At the time Ant was battling to regain his health following a conviction for drink driving.
But, despite the strain on their relationship, 44-year-old Dec talked of how they successfully worked at the friendship they had been taking for granted, reports The Mirror.
It says Dec told a FANE podcast: “Because there was so much uncertainty with our career and partnership, we had to really step back and take stock of it all - almost to get our friendship back on track, because I think we’d taken it for granted for too long."
Ant added: “Having had that period where we weren’t together, we found more gratitude for everything we do.”
And the award-winning presenters are back as strong as ever, with Dec saying: “It’s a really lovely time in our lives and in our professional career."
He has already told how he had not wanted a male replacement to join him on ITV hit I'm A Celebrity in Australia, despite Stephen Mulhern and Phillip Schofield being linked to the role.
In the pair's new book Once Upon A Tyne, he wrote: "The year that Holly stepped in, it was very strange for me to host a TV show with anyone but Ant.
"Right from the very beginning there was no way I was going to host the show with another male.
"I didn't want to have another man standing on the same side Ant stood.”
The popular pair will be back at the helm of I'm A Celebrity when the new series starts this autumn, swapping the Australian jungle for a castle setting in Wales.
