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Ant and Dec dug into their families' military histories while filming an upcoming documentary about their ancestory.

The Geordie pair delved into their family trees for ITV show, Ant & Dec's DNA Journey. Both Ant and Dec have ancestors who made a name for themselves in the military, but for very different reasons.

Ant, 43, found the McPartlin family has a First World War hero who won a Military Medal for his bravery in the brutal Battle of the Somme .

Ant learned of his great-grandfather's heroics when he and Dec visited the Tyneside Irish Centre to learn about the Tyneside Irish, a 'Pals Battalion' which suffered enormous casualties in the 1916 battle. On one day alone, the combined Tyneside Irish and Scottish battalions - made up of men from the North East - had 18% of its men killed and 37% seriously wounded.

Chairman of the Tyneside Irish Brigade chairman Bill Corcoran told them the story of the Brigade's - and Ant's ancestor's - First World War heroics.

(Image: ITV - Ant and Dec's DNA Journey)

Bill said: "They were a group of pals who joined the Army as friends and they marched into the battle together and most of them died together.

"If you two had been there in 1914, you probably would have joined up together."

He told Ant: "Your great grandfather is an absolute hero."

Ant replied: “Wow, don’t say that you’ll start me crying. This is really fascinating.”

Bill said: "He fought and he fought as a warrior. When you win the Military Medal, you get that for something heroic."

Ant said: "To fight at The Battle of the Somme and to be awarded the Military Medal, he was a hero. It’s quite emotional."

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Dec's own family military history was examined too. His great, great grandfather, James Donnelly, fought in the Crimean War. On a visit to the Royal Chelsea Barracks, Dec discovered his relative deserted the army and was locked up for "habitual drunkenness".

Military expert Glenn Fisher told Dec: “It would be quite a shame and a disgrace really. He’s gone for a soldier and he’s deserted after six weeks. It would have brought shame upon his family."

Dec said: "It was not what I was expecting at all, nowhere near. I didn’t ever expect it was going to be a colourful history."

Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey will be shown next month on ITV .