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They say you should never meet your heroes, as you could be setting yourself up for disappointment.
But this is no obstacle for one of Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly‘s biggest fans, whose love for the duo runs so deep, she has spent 10 hours waiting for them in a snowstorm and even has dresses emblazoned with snaps of their greatest moments.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Heidi-Jade Sargent, 23, gushed that she has met the duo numerous times, and has already booked two weeks off work to secure tickets for the new series of Saturday Night Takeaway later this month.
The 23-year-old, from Northampton, received nationwide attention when she met the pair at the Britain’s Got Talent auditions last week, donning a jacket and matching shoes completely covered with their faces.
Heidi also revealed that Ant and Dec’s uplifting shows have also helped her through a challenging time in her life, offering some much-needed comfort when her sister was battling an ‘upsetting’ illness.
EXCLUSIVE: One of Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s biggest fans has opened up about her love for the presenting duo, having met them numerous times
Die-hard: Heidi-Jade Sargent, from Northampton, has already booked two weeks off work in the hope of getting tickets for the new series of Saturday Night Takeaway
Discussing her initial love for the pair, Heidi-Jade explained: ‘I’m a big fan of Ant and Dec because they always manage to lift me up in the really tough times in my life.
‘They’re just so talented. There’s such amazing people and so down-to-earth when you meet them, they’re just so great.’
She said she still remembers the first moment she discovered their distinct presenting style, while watching an episode of Saturday Night Takeaway when she was at school.
‘I remember watching them from when I was younger. And then one of my friends introduced me to Saturday Night Takeaway when I was in secondary school, and I absolutely loved it, fell in love with the show,’ she said.
‘It was so like so much fun every Saturday and I got so involved in it like you’d be singing and dancing along to the end of the show shows, always dreaming of that place on the plane kind of thing.
‘And then they did Enjie Benjy, a kids programme, which was my favourite programme as a child, a young child growing up as well. So I’ve actually pretty much loved them all of my life.’
Heidi also candidly revealed that Ant and Dec were a huge cofort to her when her sister fell ill, describing it as a difficult time for herself and her family.
‘I had a time where my sister was ill, and everyone was quite upset, she explained.
Candid: Heidi-Jade told MailOnline that Ant and Dec’s uplifting shows have also helped her through a challenging time in her life, when her sister battled an ‘upsetting illness’
‘And watching their shows would just bring a smile to my face. I was spending most of the day worrying about her. I could just kind of take myself off watch Saturday Night takeaway and they would just have given me that positivity boost that I needed to keep me smiling.’
At 23, Heidi missed some of Ant and Dec’s earliest career moments, including appearances on the series Byker Grove, where they famously met and became pals.
However, she has gone back and watched much of their earlier work online, and constantly plays their PJ & Duncan album, which featured their iconic 90s tune Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble.
Last week, Heidi caught nationwide attention when she donned a jacket covered with pictures of Ant and Dec’s faces, with matching trainers to meet them as they headed to BGT filming in Manchester.
She had previously travelled to London while the pair were filming auditions at The Palladium, with judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli.
She said that she has met the pair so many times, that they have started to recognise her thanks to her eye-catching accessories.
‘They recognise me now with the jacket. I’ve got two Ant and Dec jackets that I’ve had made. So they recognise me with them now and the dresses. I’ve got four Ant and Dec memory selfie dresses now. They recognise me from them,’ Heidi-Jade said.
Discussing the first time she got to meet them, Heidi-Jade told MailOnline that she dragged her mum along to a red carpet event, and they waited in torrential rain for eight hours.
‘I got so starstruck I couldn’t even talk. I got that starstruck I couldn’t say anything,’ she said.
‘They’re were so lovely, such lovely people. And yeah, I just cried the entire way home. It was such a good things, such an amazing memory.
Back to work! Ant and Dec have been filming the auditions for the new series of Britain’s Got Talent (pictured), and Heidi has already been to see them twice
What a look! She caught the attention of the pair in Manchester last week, when she sported a jacket, T-shirt and shoes covered with their faces
Classic: She revealed that she first travelled to meet the pair at a red carpet event when she was 18, and has had four dresses made emblazoned with snaps of their faces
‘At the Palladium this year, the warm-up man at BGT took my jacket to them backstage and they come out modelling it on the Britain’s Got Talent stage which I was so excited.
‘I was just screaming, screaming like the biggest fan in the world. They modelled it and then the next day I saw them outside on stage doors and they come across even though they were running, and then I was filming and I came over and they signed it with me.’
While Heidi-Jade said she’s travelled to London and Manchester to see the pair, the first trip she made proved more challenging than most, as the capital was hit by a horrific snowstorm.
She explained: ‘The first one I went to I was 18 and it was Saturday Night Takeaway in a snowstorm which I saw outside in that snowstorm for 10-and-a-half hours. And that was with one of my friends from university to go into that show.’
Luckily Heidi-Jade’s loved ones are just as on-board with her Ant and Dec obsession as she is, and will always look out for her when she heads to the BGT auditions.
‘Not as crazy as I am but they do watch the shows,’ she said.
‘If it’s something I’ve been to they always look out for me to me and then send pictures being like ”you’re in the audience!” Yeah, not as crazy as I am.’
Grilled on her favourite Ant and Dec moment from their 30-year career, Heidi-Jade picked the moment that they hosted a wedding on Saturday Night Takeaway back in 2016, complete with some amusing tales about the bride and groom.
And with a new series of Saturday Night Takeaway set to kick off later this month, Heidi-Jade is already putting plans in place to land a spot in the audience, hopefully more than once in the series.
Amazing: At the BGT auditions, Ant and Dec even donned Heidi’s eye-catching jacket, admitting it made her ‘scream like the biggest fan in the world’
‘Hopefully, two weeks of annual leave off just to go. The jackets, the shoes are ready, I just need the tickets!’ she said.
Heidi-Jade is no stranger to the Takeaway have seen the show live twice last year, and she said: ‘The audience are so excitemable and yeah, it’s hard to explain it.
‘It makes it kind of more real and more excitable, I get so much more exicted and I just dance around the living room.
‘But in a way, I am even more surprised in the studios. Andy, the warm up guy, tweeted me last year and said I was an absolute superstar and I love the show, which is true!’
Discussing her Ant and Dec-themed wardrobe, Heidi-Jade added: ‘I first started off with a dress, I designed the dress and had really fun time designing it.
‘And then I thought you know what, actually, I do really love Ant and Dec, I’ve got so many T shirts… I want to make a one-of-a-kind jacket thing, so I did it and then I loved it when it turned out to the point that I made another one.
‘I’ve got one with Ant, Dec and Stephen Mulhern on it from Saturday Night Takeaway.’
How long? She also shared that she once queued for eight hours in the rain to meet them, and even spent 10 hours in a snowstorm to watch them on Saturday Night Takeaway
As one of Ant and Dec’s biggest fans, who has seen their vast array of presenting talents both on screen and in-person, is there anything else that Heidi would like to see the pair try?
‘I’d love to see them in more movies Alien Autopsy is my favourite movie. I’d love to see them do more acting and movie-making. I would love for them to come back and do another tour.
‘Yeah, I would love to see them do like an Ant and Dec music tour or do the Saturday Night Takeaway tour again.
‘Because so many people would go to it for so many fans out there that would go and see their show. I think it would just be an incredible atmosphere really. And then they would get a good reaction from the fans.’
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