From Teenage Co-Stars to a Fizzled Romance: Jill Halfpenny Opens Up on Dating Ant McPartlin During Byker Grove Days
Long before she became a household name, The Feud star Jill Halfpenny shared an on-screen — and off-screen — connection with none other than Ant McPartlin.
Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Jill rose to fame as Nicola Dobson on the beloved coming-of-age series Byker Grove, where she and Ant, both just teenagers at the time, briefly dated behind the scenes.
Now starring in Channel 5’s The Feud, Jill, 49, reflects on that early romance with her former co-star — which, as she once revealed, eventually “fizzled out.”
From EastEnders to Strictly to a hit primetime drama, Jill’s career has continued to soar — even if that teen love story didn’t last.
The Feud star Jill Halfpenny on dating Ant McPartlin
BBC’s teen series Byker Grove catapulted several stars to stardom in the 1980s and 1990s, including Jill and Geordie duo Ant and Dec.
The show was originally broadcast between 1989 and 2006 and told the story of a youth club in Newcastle.
And it seems romance blossomed on the set between Ant and Jill…
Why did Ant and Jill end things?
Back in 2016, Jill appeared on This Morning and shared that she once asked Ant out on a date to the cinema.
“We went to the cinema together, we went to see The Commitments in real life!” Jill said.
She added: “I said to him: ‘There’s a really good film that’s come out called The Commitments, do you wanna come?’ He was like: ‘Ah aye, yeah great!’”
However, it turned out it wasn’t meant to be for the two stars. Jill revealed: “It fizzled…. We weren’t right for each other!”
Jill’s love life
Ant went on to marry his wife Anne-Marie Corbett in 2021, and welcomed their first child in 2024.
Jill meanwhile found love with partner Matt. However back in 2017, Matt suddenly died of a heart attack after leaving to go to an exercise class one morning, at the age of 43. At the time of his death, the couple were trying for a baby.
Jill has previously opened up about the “awful” grief she experienced after Matt’s death. And how it forced her to confront the grief she still had about her dad’s death.
Since Matt’s passing, Jill has found love again with Ian McAllister. And she believes she got a sign from Matt to give his permission for her to move on.
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