I'm A Celeb's Ant and Dec address 'feud' with Dean McCullough after meeting him on BGT 11 years ago

I'm A Celeb's Ant and Dec have finally spoken out about their connection to Dean McCullough after it was revealed they had crossed paths before.

The revelation came when fans unearthed that the BBC Radio 1 presenter had previously appeared on Britain's Got Talent, a show hosted by the Geordie pair.

Back in 2013, a youthful Dean, then just 20, took to the stage with his dance group The Glambassadors, reaching the live semi-finals, with Ant and Dec cheering from the wings, the Mirror reports.

Despite fan astonishment at the duo's lack of previous recognition of Dean, the matter was clarified during an Instagram Live Q&A session. When quizzed by a viewer who asked, "Do you remember meeting Dean on Britain's Got Talent years ago," Ant candidly responded: "Good question but the answer to that is no."

Previously reflecting on his BGT stint, Dean, who was honing his craft at drama school at the time, shared: "We formed because we all know each other through working in dance.

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"But a week before the auditions we lost two guys who got jobs in LA. So we found two other friends and we had one rehearsal before we got to the stage.

"I choreographed the dance so I was under pressure to get it sorted. We were winging it but I think because of the pressure we were under it all came together and now I have made friends for life. We have all been on this journey together, none of us have ever done anything like this before."

They were pipped to the post by champions Attraction. Dean has had a rollercoaster relationship with Ant and Dec since his stint on the show began.

The presenting duo, especially Ant, have been particularly peeved by what they viewed as Dean's early lack of effort in trials. Ant made his feelings crystal clear, declaring earlier this week: "I'm never going to follow him on Instagram. Never. That's not going to happen. Never going to happen."

Ant's latest tirade against Dean came just a day after he pleaded with the audience to cease picking him for the trials, addressing them with: "Well, right. Let's all have a serious talk. I'm going to look directly into the camera here. I think it's good to see other faces down there."

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