Declan Donnelly And Ali Astall Tying Knot At Church Wedding In Newcastle

Declan Donnelly And Ali Astall Tying Knot At Church Wedding In Newcastle
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Declan Donnelly and his fiancee Ali Astall have arrived at church for their wedding.

Donnelly's TV presenting partner Ant McPartlin, who was wearing a matching suit, is thought to be best man at the ceremony in Newcastle.

McPartlin drove the groom to St Michael's Church in an Aston Martin Vanquish which he revved loudly.

The pair then posed for selfies and shook hands with local well-wishers.

The bride, wearing a simple full length sleveless dress, also managed a smile for spectators after she arrived in a Rolls Royce Phantom.

The church in Newcastle's tough inner city ward of Elswick is where Donnelly's family worshipped when he was growing up and was the venue for the funeral of his father Alphonsus in 2011.

The groom's brother Father Dermott Donnelly, the Dean of St Mary's Cathedral, was expected to lead the ceremony.

Among the famous faces seen arriving at the church were Holly Willoughby, Vernon Kay, Tess Daly, Marvin and Rochelle Humes, Ashley Roberts, Stephen Mulhern and Jonathan Wilkes.

Phillip Schofield blew kisses to the crowd as he arrived but the biggest cheer was for local hero Alan Shearer, followed by ex-England man Peter Beardsley.

This morning Donnelly joked from the pair's Ant and Dec Twitter account: "Morning! I know I've got somewhere to be today but I can't for the life of me remember where...."

The Geordie presenter got engaged to Miss Astall, who is his manager, in November last year on an island off the coast of Australia, before travelling to the set of I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! for the latest series.

In an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show earlier this year, Donnelly said he proposed as the sun set.

He also admitted it was ''a little strange'' when the couple first got together because they had been work colleagues for so long, but added: ''It's going good. Everything's hunky-dory.''

Donnelly was best man at his on-screen partner's 2006 wedding to make-up artist Lisa Armstrong and McPartlin said he was looking forward to returning the favour.

"I can't bloody wait! He was best man for me, I've been married eight years now. His speech was very good, very funny so I've got a lot to get him back with!" he told Ross.

Donnelly, who first found fame with McPartlin in teenage drama Byker Grove, previously dated actress Clare Buckfield and TV presenter Georgie Thompson.