Declan Donnelly says 'I nearly got arrested' after supermarket blunder
Declan Donnelly confessed his supermarket blunder on an episode of his and presenting partner Ant McPartlin's Hanging Out with Ant +Dec podcast.
Declan Donnelly joked he "nearly got arrested" after he accidentally "shoplifted" from Marks+Spencer by walking away from a self-service checkout without paying.
The 50-year-old TV presenter took a bite of his egg and maple bacon sandwich when he realised he had forgotten to pay for it.
He had stopped at the Bridgwater Services store with his 47-year-old wife, Ali Astall, on their way home after spending a few days in Cornwall.
Dec confessed on an episode of his and presenting partner Ant McPartlin's Hanging Out with Ant +Dec podcast.
He said: "I nearly got arrested yesterday."
Surprised, Ant, 50, asked: "What do you mean, nearly got arrested?"
Dec explained: "I had a few days away in Cornwall. We stopped off halfway. We like stopping at a services with an M+S, so we'll go in, we pick our sandwiches, take it to the self-service checkout.
"So I start bleeping it. Bleep, bleep, bleep. Put everything in the bag. Bleep my Sparks card. And then I just walk off."
Ant exclaimed: "You didn't pay for it," before joking: "Declan Donnelly is a thief!"
Dec admitted that he put everything in his bag and "wandered off".
And Dec did not realise his blunder until he and Ali left Bridgwater Services and continued on their journey home.
He recalled: "As I was tucking into my egg and maple bacon sandwich, with a mouthful of egg and bacon sandwich, I went, 'I haven't paid for this!'"
Panicking about what he had accidentally done, the star immediately tried to phone the service station.
After Ant joked about police pursuing his I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! co-host, Dec admitted: "So I had to ring the services. Couldn't get through, first of all."
Unable to contact the store, Dec called his office, where he told his team: "I'm really sorry, I have just shoplifted from Bridgwater Services. My heart rate is slightly raised. I think I'm going to get arrested."
Dec continued: "Because they knew it was me. So they rang the services, and they said, 'Dec's just been in. He's just shoplifted. What can we do to resolve the situation?'"
Staff told them that nothing could be done now and suggested the entertainer make a charitable donation.
Dec said: "They said, 'Thank you for your honesty, but honestly, there's nothing we can do now. But please make a donation to our charity,' which I think was Mind.
"So we gave a donation to charity last night."
Ant then quipped: "Which was slightly under what your sandwiches would have come to."
Dec insisted: "No, it was slightly more, actually, than a delicious M+S sandwich."
