Ant McPartlin hasn’t changed a day in unearthed BBC video from TV debut aged 12

Do you ever wonder how some broadcasters got their big break? Well, one of British TV’s biggest names, Ant McPartlin, certainly established himself from a very young age, having played the role of PJ in CBBC’s Byker Grove, before going on to form music duo PJ & Duncan, alongside Declan Donnelly, in the early 1990s. 

Despite Ant’s impressive history of TV gigs, which saw him rack up 23 consecutive wins at the NTAs, you may not know that the I’m a Celebrity presenter also appeared on BBC children’s show Why Don’t You? in 1988. 

The series aired from 1973 to 1995 and saw its presenters try out games and recipes suggested by its young audience watching from home. 

In a clip from 12 April 1988 shared on Instagram by BBC Archive, Ant could be seen flexing his presenting skills at just 12 years old, as he demonstrated how to make ‘Sweet Fried Eggs’. 

Ant McPartlin’s TV debut

Donning an iconic 1980s sweatshirt with his name embroidered on, Ant’s cheeky chappy face is still completely recognisable as he began: “This is the last letter, and it’s been stuck in a box for months and months and months and it’s a recipe for sweet fried eggs.”

In his signature Geordie accent, he continued: “And the funny thing is, it’s got nothing at all to do with eggs, right? What I’m doing now is getting me slices of Swiss roll, and I’m putting some marmalade on, that makes the cream stick. 

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“You’re supposed to put jam on, but I don’t like jam. You just dollop it on just like that. Put lots on so it’ll stick, and then just spread it around, yes, then put your cream on. 

Enthusiastically adding squirty cream on top of the marmalade-smothered Swiss rolls, 12-year-old Ant muses: “This is my best bit, this. Just go mad at it. Don’t worry if it goes in a big lump, because what you do is you just spread it round with a knife, and that makes it look more like the white. 

And the pièce de résistance? “Then you get half a drained peach, which is the yellow of the egg, and you put that in the middle. And if you want, you can add more cream there. And there you have, it, sweet fried eggs,” said Ant. 

Fans react to the throwback clip

Fans quickly took to the comments to discuss the “amazing” throwback, with many reminiscing about watching the show when they were young. “Absolutely loved Why Don’t You (way more than Blue Peter) because it was so chaotic and felt genuinely led by the kids,” penned one person. 

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Another comment even came from Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies, who provided some valuable insight about the clip. 

“I wrote this! I’m literally standing 2ft to the left of this shot. Happy days!” he said, while another added: “I was there – Amanda from Wardrobe – Happy Days indeed.”