Ant McPartlin's ex Lisa Armstrong brands divorce settlement rumours 'lies'

Ant McPartlin’s ex Lisa Armstrong has broken her silence on their divorce proceedings, calling a recent report about a multimillion-pound deal she was said to have turned down “lies”.

The Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist and the Geordie TV presenter split in 2018 after 11 years of marriage, during his recovery from alcohol and prescription medication addictions.

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A report over the weekend had alleged that Armstrong, 43, had turned down a £31m divorce payout in favour of taking the case to court, but when a Twitter follower questioned her about it, she branded the story “lies”.

The woman asked her: “How can 31million not be enough for you?! It’s enough for both me and my family put together for life. Just sayin’.”

But Armstrong replied: “Don’t believe the lies #justsaying”

Her fans jumped to her defence with supportive comments after the Daily Mail story, which claimed that McPartlin wanted to reach a settlement before starting work on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! but that Armstrong turned down a huge payout in favour of taking him to court.

Armstrong was granted a divorce from McPartlin in 2018 and he is now in a relationship with his former personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett.

McPartlin spoke frankly about his recent struggles with alcohol on Sunday evening during the opening episode of Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey, an ITV documentary looking at the Geordie duo’s family history.

He said: “I thought the public had had enough. I didn't think I'd be allowed to do what I love any more.

"But coming back and being on screen and the love and support shown to us in overwhelming. I can't thank people enough."

McPartlin was fined £86,000 for a drink-driving offence and went into rehab for addictions to alcohol and prescription medication, taking 2018 off work and leaving Declan Donnelly to continue their TV commitments without him while he recovered.

Donnelly also spoke about the effect the incidents had had on him, saying: "It's been a tough couple of years. It's really tested the bond that we've shared since we were, like, 13 years old.”

Read more: Dec admits he thought partnership with Ant would not survive

He admitted: "I was incredibly angry at the start. So angry. Disappointed in him that he didn't ever come to me and say, 'I'm struggling, I need you.'

"I thought that if the shoe was on the other foot I would have gone to him and said, 'I'm in trouble and I can't handle this, I need your help.'

"He never came to me – and that hurt me a lot."