#*dec loves ant

Ahh, hello, I love asks like this THANK YOU so much <3 This is so so tough, but I’m going to have to go with the two instances from the very first episode when they brought up what’s been going on with Ant. Prepare, because this is going to be long and ramble-y, but let me explain why! :)First of all have you seen anything cuter than that hug ????

But the reason why it’s so so precious is the way Ant doesn’t want to let go. I mean, clearly they went over the scripted time of how long this hug was supposed to last, and as Dec pulls away, you can see how he’s not expecting it to last longer than what they probably rehearsed (even his little laugh before the hug - you can tell it’s his real laugh, not the TV presenter one! - at 0.47 indicates that Ant is being a lot more genuine and over the top than he probably was in rehearsal). But god, he’s willing to comply and hold onto Ant even tighter, like do you see, how he leans back in, gets a better grip on Ant and shifts his weight, letting Ant draw him closer ??? THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH ???? AND IT MAKES ME SO EMOTIONAL ???Anyway. I’m going to be projecting here a bit, because obviously, I have no clue, but god, I can just imagine how nerve-wrecking and terrifying it must have been for Ant to be on telly for the first time again (live telly as well !!!), after all he’s been through, all the rubbish that’s been written and said about him, and maybe it was the nerves, the relief that they were finally doing it, or the adrenaline, or being afraid of what was going to happen next, not ready to move onto the next bit, or just cherishing this moment, his gratitude and love for Dec, or maybe all of these things combined, but… You can just see it on his face, as he’s squishing Dec half to death that he is so incredibly grateful that he can do this with his best friend by his side, and that’s why he’s not willing to let go of him just yet, even if he can only prolong the moment by like two more seconds.And how bloody legendary is that ??? THEY ARE THE BESTEST FRIENDS TO EVER BEST FRIEND !! *PJ rapping voice* A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED !!! (I’m so emotional that I’m quoting PJ and Duncan lyrics at you - it appears we have reached a low point. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here - enjoy.)And now, before I become an absolute sobbing mess and completely lose it, let’s move onto the other bit - the one with the miniature camp. I admire Ant’s bravery to have it brought up again, to be cheeky about it, but include a second time as well, to say, no, we’re not just not ignoring it, but bringing it up TWICE, meeting it face first and bloody tackling it like I don’t even know what.I think in this bit you can see him being a bit more nervous - and once again, I’m reaching here, because obviously, I do not know what’s going on in Ant’s head -, maybe because there is nothing else to concentrate on really, they are not moving and walking into the set, and there’s a longer preparation for the joke (an on-camera preparation at that! - they are talking about something completely different beforehand, and they have to get through that, as well as announcing the vote being closed), like Ant’s heart must be in his throat during the previous bits, because he knows where this is leading to and hell, it takes a lot longer to get to the punchline as well - with the Holly Willoughby stuff it was literally one line, but here, there’s a build-up.I mean, he really does seem nervous, he stumbles on saying ‘brollies’ at the very beginning of the link, bless him, and they spend a good few seconds on saying it again, mispronouncing it again, laughing at it, much much longer than they normally would, I think - it’s Dec’s instinctive way of calming him down, repeating it and drawing it out, because this way it’s a thing that they are both making fun of, not an actual weird mistake, that leaves the viewer being all like ‘ooh, he said that weird, didn’t he, can he not speak or what’. I really doubt it’s conscious on Dec’s part to do that, he’s just talking Ant through it, reacting to him being nervous, and handling it the best way he knows how; making him laugh. (BECAUSE THEY ARE BLOODY SOULMATES LIKE WHAT KIND OF BEST FRIENDING LEVEL OF AWARENESS IS THAT ?????) 

If you pay attention to Ant’s body language throughout the whole thing, actually, you can see how tense he is - check out his little laugh at 05.35 then his nod and the slightly rigid way he places his hands on the table, almost as if preparing himself for what’s to come, and then at 05.44 the way he’s drawing up his shoulders, as he leans on the table. It’s absolutely not an accident that Dec is the one mainly carrying the link, speaking a lot more, so Ant doesn’t have to, and that the joke at the end involves the both of them, not just Ant. (What I mean by that is it’s not the kind of joke where one of them says something stupid for a few lines, then the other looks at them weird and all judge-y, then moves on, no, it’s a dialogue kind of joke, where they are both participating - clearly designed to make it easier on Ant.)I suspect that Ant taking a sip from his mug was scripted as well, but either way - if it was, or if it’s just him instinctively hiding his face, while playing into the joke - it serves the purpose of helping Ant get through it. Yeah, sure, he’s playing it up for the joke, but you can clearly see from his nervous smile before he actually takes a sip, even before Dec has even finished his sentence, how real this whole thing is for him.I mean, there’s a whole crew there surrounding them, watching them do this !! I would be bloody terrified !! Anyway, my point is, that it was incredibly brave, funny, dignified and amazing how they handled it, and all you have to do is just look at Dec’s little smiling face at the end of that second link there. He is proud of his best friend and he is willing to support him through everything - be it addiction, mental health problems, public scandals or joking your way through presenting a TV show.