Ant McPartlin addresses fans' confusion over tattoo after welcoming baby with wife Anne-Marie

Ant McPartlin has issued an explanation to fans after some were left confused by a recent photo showing a tattoo on his arm dedicated to his family. It comes after the ITV presenter and his wife Anne Marie-Corbett welcomed a new baby, a son named Wilder, earlier this month.

Ant, 48, married Anne-Marie three years ago and is stepfather to her two daughters from her first marriage. The couple hadn't confirmed their pregnancy news but had been seen out and about in recent months, with Anne-Marie revealing a growing bump.

The Britain's Got Talent host announced the news of their new arrival on Instagram this week, sharing a black and white photo of him cradling his newborn. A tattoo of a tree with the names of his loved ones can be seen on his forearm.

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Ant's celebrity pals were quick to congratulate the couple after their announcement, but eagle-eyed fans were distracted by Ant's body art.

The names of his stepdaughters Poppy and Daisy appeared on the design, as well as 'Amzie', a nickname for Anne-Marie. The couple's two Maltipoos, Milo and Bumble, also featured, but one name appeared to be missing. Fans noticed that Hurley, another of Ant's dogs, a Labrador who he shares with ex-wife Lisa Armstrong, could not be spotted on the tattoo.

Now, Ant has issued an explanation on X, formerly Twitter, confirming that his beloved dog is included in the tribute, but was covered up in the photo.

Thanking fans for their touching messages following Wilder's birth, he wrote: "Hey all, I just wanted to say thank You so much for the kind messages of love and well wishes for our baby Wilder. He’s doing great."

He then added: "Glad you loved the tattoo as well. For all you dog lovers who asked why my beloved Hurley wasn’t on the family tree... he was!! He was just covered by our newborn. All my love, gratitude and heartfelt thanks A."

Ant also posted a clearer picture of the tattoo, which did indeed show that Hurley's name featured on the bottom left of the tree.

Ant and his presenting partner Declan Donnelly hosted the final episode of their much-loved series Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway earlier this month, with Ant mentioning his family as he reflected on the decision to bring the show to an end, explaining that it was time to prioritise his loved ones.

Since 2002, Ant and Dec have been the faces of the much-loved Saturday show but after the 20th series earlier this year, they decided to put the show on hold. "We love making Saturday Night Takeaway, but reaching the milestone of 20 series seemed like the perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath," Ant revealed last year, confirming the temporary halt of the iconic programme.

Then, in a chat in February, ahead of the final series premiere, Ant elaborated on their decision to temporarily halt the popular show. "On a more personal level, part of the reason we're pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family," he confessed.