Declan Donnelly was left stunned after learning he had more than a dozen cousins he never knew existed in America.
The telly star and his partner Ant McPartlin headed off to Ireland and the US in a brand new documentary to discover their family history in Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey.
Their new show is set to air this month – but for now we take a deeper look into Dec's family history.
The Geordie star has Northern Irish roots. His parents Anne and Alphonsus lived in Desertmartin, Co. Derry before moving to Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1950s.
In 2011 Dec's dad Alphonsus died from lung cancer at 78-years-old which left the star heartbroken.
Dec revealed he was by his dad's side at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle at the time.
During the early days of Dec's career, his dad was a towering strength.
Dec, 44, married Ali Astall, 40, an Australian talent manager, in August 2015.
The pair had been in a relationship for over a year before they tied the knot and the ceremony was conducted by his brother, Father Dermott Donnelly, who is a Catholic priest, with Ant as his best man.
In 2018, the happy couple welcomed their first child, daughter Isla Elizabeth Anne into their lives.
Dec is one of seven children, and was raised on Newcastle's Cruddas Park estate with three brothers – Martin, Eamonn and Dermott – and three sisters – Camelia, Patricia and Moira.
Back in April, a rare photo of Dec pictured with his sister Moira was shared on social media, as she celebrated her 50th birthday back in Ponteland, Newcastle.
The star took time out from his busy TV career to spend time with family and friends back home.
But the telly favourite recently discovered he has affluent cousins living out in America.
He admitted he thought he knew a fair bit about where he came from, but in fact it turned out he was wrong.
Declan was left overwhelmed when he met his cousin Meg and her husband Greg.
The couple provided transportation to their impressive home via one of their fleet of helicopters and as the I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here hosts arrived, they were greeted by a gigantic banner laid out on their lawn, welcoming "cousin Dec".
Meg said: "My dad passed aged 63 (years old) and all his brothers passed as well.
"So, I didn't really get to know much about him – it's nice to finally have a little bit of my dad back.
"It's been kind of cool, especially for our kids."
Dec replied: "I'm similar, I lost my dad in 2011 and you realise it's gone forever."
Meg then explained, "This is what we've found out so far, we have the same great, great grandparents."
Dec added: "That's incredible, that would be our common ancestor."
He was then introduced to more than a dozen new cousins, and confessed he was really emotional.
Dec gushed: "Oh wow, this is amazing. I’m really emotional. Oh my goodness. Nice to meet you all…This is quite overwhelming!"
One of his cousins was called Tom, and he was a firefighter in New York and on duty during 9/11.
The I'm A Celebrity presenter said his "mind is blown" from meeting his new family.
Speaking about his whole experience, Dec said: "A huge part of this was to find out my heritage, especially on my dad's side.
"I always thought I knew a fair bit about where I came from but it turns out I was wrong!
"Whilst it was incredible to find out about the past, what was hugely overwhelming was to meet relatives neither of us knew we had. It was a truly amazing experience."
*Ant & Dec's DNA Journey airs on Sunday 10th and Monday 11th of November at 9pm on ITV
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