Ant McPartlin's estranged wife apparently wants to speak out
Their divorce has reportedly stalled amid claims she refuses to sign a non-disclosure agreement – a legal contract preventing Lisa Armstrong from speaking about her marriage to Ant McPartlin.
Now insiders say the 42-year-old make-up artist – who was with the TV presenter for 23 years – is considering doing a tell-all interview with Piers Morgan, after it was revealed that Ant has plans to propose to his girlfriend, Anne-Marie Corbett.
Piers – who’s known Lisa for years, and worked with her and Ant, 43, on Britain’s Got Talent – recently joked on Instagram about being left in “agony” after she plucked his eyebrows for his celebrity chat show, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
CHECK OUT Byker Grove cast: where are they now?
Byker Grove cast: Where are they now?
Ant & Dec (PJ & Duncan) then
Appearing in the show between 1989 and 1992, PJ and Duncan were the cool kids of Byker Grove. Seriously, who else could rock so many block primary colours at once?
Ant & Dec (PJ & Duncan) now
It's safe to say the boys - now more commonly known as Ant and Dec - have done alright for themselves. In the early '90s they nabbed themselves a record deal and released the absolute TUNE that is Let's Get Ready to Rhumble. Since then they've picked up a record 17 Best TV Presenter NTAs for their services to everything from SM
Denise Welch (Polly) then
Denise starred as Polly on the show between 1990 and 1991 in a short seven-episode stint.
Denise Welch (Polly) now
Making her mark on the telly world, Denise has since appeared as Natalie Horrocks in Coronation Street, lent her services to the Loose Women panel and was a contestant on the sixth series of* Dancing on Ice* alongside professional partner Matt Evers. Oh, and she won the ninth series of Celebrity Big Brother.
Donna Air (Charlie Charlton) then
Playing Charlie Charlton, Donna was just ten years old when she joined the Byker Grove cast in 1992.
Donna Air (Charlie Charlton) now
Donna went on to become a presenter, most notably on MTV, TFI Friday and Popstars: The Rivals Extra. She's also appeared in Hollyoaks, blockbuster movie The Mummy Returns and most recently competed on the tenth series of Dancing on Ice.
Charlie Hunnam (Jason) then
Yup, actual-Hollywood-actor-type Charlie Hunnam made a brief appearance on Byker Grove as Jason back in '98. WHO KNEW?
Charlie Hunnam (Jason) now
Another huge success story, Charlie's since become so in demand he PULLED OUT (no pun intended) of playing Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey; with the role then going to Jamie Dornan. Most recently, Charlie appeared in Guy Ritchie's Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur as actual King Arthur himself.
Jill Halfpenny (Nicola Dobson) then
Jill served absolute '90s scrunchie goals as she played the role of Nicola Dobson from 1989-1992.
Jill Halfpenny (Nicola Dobson) now
Still very much on the scene, Jill went on to win the 2014 series of Strictly Come Dancing and appear in everything from Waterloo Road to Wild at Heart.
Andrew Hayden-Smith (Ben Carter) then
We're not gonna lie, we had the biggest crush on Ben Carter from 1995 right the way through to 2003. Then he got killed off and we cried for a week straight. It was a difficult time.
Andrew Hayden-Smith (Ben Carter) now
Andrew healed our then-broken hearts as he was reincarnated as a CBBC presenter in the mid-noughties, more recently appearing in *Doctor Who *and Channel 4 dramas Cucumber and Banana.
Billy Fane (Geoff) then
Ah, youth club leader Geoff. An absolute Byker veteran from 1989-1999, he was brutally killed of in a gas explosion. The scene's still ingrained on our brains and we...can't talk about it.
Billy Fane (Geoff) now
After Ant and Dec returned to the show for his funeral episode in 1999, Billy made an appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway back in 2014. He also achieved a masters degree in special needs education in 2006.
Point Break then
Remember floppy-haired '90s boyband Point Break? No? Well, um, it was made up of Byker Grove actors Brett Adams and David 'Ollie' Oliver and their pal Declan Bennett. We'd highly recommend their top 40 smash single Freaky Time.
Point Break now
We're cheating here slightly, but said pal Declan's since been cast as Charlie Cotton in EastEnders. Bit of a tenuous link, but interesting nonetheless.
A source says, “Lisa trusts Piers implicitly. He’s been quietly encouraging her to do an interview with him, telling her how therapeutic Cheryl found doing a chat following her split from Ashley Cole.
"He says that, given Lisa’s maintained a dignified silence throughout her divorce, it would help her draw a line and move on.”
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Closer recently reported Lisa was preparing for the possibility of Ant getting engaged to mum-of-two Anne-Marie, 43, Lisa’s former pal and PA.
But pals say her main priority is ensuring their divorce is settled as fairly as possible.
A source adds, “Lisa wants this finalised just as much as Ant, but she also wants to ensure she’s able to speak out if she wants to – as much to help others in her situation as herself.”
Last week, it was revealed that a new Channel 5 documentary about Ant’s battle with “booze and drugs” is set to air later this year, and will see his celebrity friends“tell all” about him.
Read even more celebrity news in this week's Closer - out now.