There's a 'third member' of Ant & Dec who works overnight shifts to write their I'm A Celeb jokes

It's fair to say that Ant and Dec are probably the nation's favourite presenting duo.

After all, they have won Best Presenter at the National Television Awards for 23 years in a row.

But did you know there's actually a 'third member' of their double act?

Friends and colleagues for over 30 years, after first meeting on kids' drama series Byker Grove, Ant and Dec are so natural in front of the camera that their witty gags often feel like an improvised conversation between two mates, rather than scripted telly.

Of course, there's a huge amount of prep that goes into shows like I'm A Celebrity and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, but you might be surprised to learn that the pair actually have a joke writer, comedian Andy Milligan, who creates their gags.

Rarely ever seen or heard in front of the camera, Milligan has been working with Ant and Dec for nearly 20 years and is their only full-time writer.

But what's it like being the voice of not one but two national treasures?

Well, it sounds pretty gruelling, especially when it comes to the I'm A Celeb schedule.

Speaking on the 'Firecrotch & Normcore: THEY LIKE TO WATCH' podcast with hosts Sara Barron and Geoff Lloyd earlier this year, Milligan opened up about the show and what it's like to write Ant and Dec's jokes in the middle of the night.

"One of the amazing things I've got from Ant and Dec is that it keeps you match fit as a joke writer," he explained.

"Your jokes are going to be on telly... When we do I'm A Celebrity in Australia, that's relentless, you come in and every night it's a blank page, you better have 20 jokes ready for 7am, every morning for three weeks, but that forces you to write and get better."

If you've watched I'm A Celeb, you'll know that And and Dec go live from Australia at 7am, which is 9pm over in the UK.

Of course, they don't get out of bed and go straight onto camera, in fact, there's a lot of nighttime work involved in the production.

Answering a fan question on Instagram last year, the pair explained they have to set their alarms for 2.30am.

Dec said: "What is our routine? So we go and film the (Bushtucker) trial. Then we have been leaving here [jungle site] and getting home at 1pm. We have a couple of hours to chill and then have dinner about 4.30pm and then bed is like six or 6.30pm."

Ant added: "And then our alarms go off at two or 2.30am every day. And you can never fall asleep at half six. It is always after seven."

Just this week, Ant and Dec were hit with a number of Ofcom complaints after viewers criticised them for their jokes about Reverend Richard Coles.

Many felt the gags were poking fun at Richard’s profession as a Vicar, with over 70 Ofcom complaints about their mocking of the Bible and his faith.

Now, if you've ever wondered how Ant and Dec - or rather, Ant, Dec and Milligan - come up with the gags, Milligan also lifted the lid on how it works.

"Writing for Ant and Dec is a conversation, it's two people... With I'm A Celebrity, you're always going 'right It'll be funny if we do something around this', but who's angry and who's sad about it, or who's confused or who's arrogant, you ascribe personas to them for that joke," he explained.

"For so many comedy writers, you write in a vacuum, you might write six pilots and one will get interest... with them, I get to see my jokes on TV.

"... Not my jokes, stuff I write and they improve it and make it better.

"You get to hear, did an audience laugh at that? They didn't? Then it's not a good joke."

Milligan - who is also co-creator of series Man Like Mobeen - first started working with Ant and Dec during the 2004 series of the show, after he was recommended by a colleague.

Incredibly, it was his first writing job.

When asked about the type of relationship he now has with the duo, he explained: "It's a weird paradox, we're friends, we have a WhatsApp group the three of us but they're my bosses and I never lose sight of that, without them I don't have a career, or I don't have a certain type of career."