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Has Declan Donnelly had a hair transplant?

20 November 2023, 13:36

By Alice Dear

As Ant and Dec return to host I'm A Celebrity, fans have been questioning whether Declan Donnelly has had a hair transplant.

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Ant and Dec - real names Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - were back on our screens over the weekend with the return of the highly popular reality TV show I'm A Celebrity.

During the first episode, stars such as Jamie Lynn Spears, Nigel Farage, Grace Dent and Josie Gibson enter the Australian jungle in a host of different ways; the horrifying plant walk, sky-diving and token fishing with snakes and other creepy crawlies.

And while the entertainment on the show was in full swing, it was Dec's hair which got the most attention as viewers started to question whether he had dyed it or even had a hair transplant to help with thinning.

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One person took to X (formerly Twitter) wrote: "Has Dec had a hair transplant? #ImACeleb", while another commented: "Dec has had something done to his hair. Is it just a longer fringe? He keeps touching it too #ImACeleb."

Ant and Dec have returned for another year of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Picture: ITV

One asked on the social media platform: "Am I the first to mention Dec’s hair transplant?", to which one person replied: "I thought he just dyed it."

So, what do we know about the 48-year-old's hair and has Dec had a transplant?

Back in 2012, a friend of Dec's told The Sun that he had not had a hair transplant, and that he had turned to other methods to help his receding hairline.

The source said: "Declan has certainly not had a transplant. He knows his hairline is receding and has taken some steps to tackle it. There are all sorts of remedies out there you can get, including tablets and shampoos.

"He’s not exactly kept it a secret. He was even joking about it at the NTAs as people he hadn’t seen for a while had noticed the change."

I'm A Celebrity viewers noticed that Dec's hair was looking fuller during the first episode. Picture: ITV

According to the Mail Online, Dec has managed to improve the health of his hair with 'miracle' growth tablets called Propecia. Propecia works by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone).

People started questioning how Dec had achieved such luscious locks in 2019 when the press shots for that year's I'm A Celebrity were shared with the world.

In the pictures, Dec's hair appears less thin and much darker than his original salt and pepper shade previously sported in previous series.

Declan Donnelly (pictured here in 2012) is reported to have taken steps to help his hair health. Picture: Getty

A hair transplant is a cosmetic surgery which can cost between £1,000 and £30,000 depending on specific cases. As it is a cosmetic procedure, it is not available on the NHS.

The procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation which means it is painless and only takes one day so does not require overnight stays in hospital.

The surgery usually works by moving hair follicles from the back of the head to the thinning or bald area and the finished product is not visible until around 10 to 18 months.