They're one of TV's best-loved presenting duos so it's unsurprising that after more than 25 years hosting side-by-side, Ant and Dec are firm friends. So much so, that as well as working together, they holiday together and even became neighbours. The Limitless Win hosts once both had houses in Chiswick, West London before Ant McPartlin packed up and moved into another property further away from Declan Donnelly's abode. Not only that, in years gone by the stars also attempted to purchase neighbouring holiday homes in Portugal, but not all went to plan.
© David M. BenettIn 2015, Ant and Dec bought neighbouring homes on the 72-villa development The Keys, based near the celebrity-loved, exclusive golf resort of Quinta do Lago. Ant and Dec both invested millions of pounds into choosing and purchasing the properties located in the sunny Algarve, with the idea of having a hub in the holiday hotspot to use in the summer months with their families.
The presenters hired interior professionals to design their dream villas from scratch. The properties were said to have included multiple swimming pools, with an infinity pool on the roof and another in the basement, cinema rooms, a bar, a butler's kitchen and staff quarters.
The Keys boasted 72 villas on its site and was just a short drive from the sandy beaches but, unfortunately, the property company went bust in 2017 and the presenting duo stood to lose millions they had invested, according to reports.
Ant and Dec each paid more than £3 million each for their respective villas and so when the company went into liquidation, they fought with everything they could to save their funds. However, due to the company going bust and owing other investors and shareholders, The Keys had to pay their way out to other key creditors over refunding the TV stars.
Not only that, but at the time they were warned that their chances of recouping the money were slim because state-owned Portuguese bank Caixa Geral de Depositas were owed £250 million and were said to be first in line to reclaim its debt after the Portuguese taxman.
Although the investment didn't work out for the I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! stars, we can see why they were keen to invest. The villas were gorgeously spacious and boasted many different rooms to accommodate large parties.
The villas were also located in a stunning location surrounded by green fields and trees, as well as being located right by the Mediterranean Sea.
Each of the homes Ant and Dec had their eyes on featured multiple swimming pools, large outdoor dining areas and multiple bedrooms for their guests to stay in. They even had cosy cinema rooms with large, comfy sofas placed in front of the huge flatscreen TV wall, perfect for nights in with a film.
© GettyAnt and Dec weren't the only familiar faces to miss out when The Keys fell into liquidation. Phillip Schofield also invested money into a property but when the company went down he lost over £1 million. After some years of battles in and out of court, Metro online reported in 2022 that Ant and Dec had lost a total of £2.5 million each after the backfired investment.
