"It's not ginger" Ant insisted as he tried,but failed to get his giggling fit under control.

"Then why are you laughing?" Dec asked.

"Well" Ant hesitated "just because it's not exactly what we were expecting,it's not blonde is it?"

"It's not what I was expecting either" Dec frowned "and it's very far from blonde"

"I think it looks great" Edith cut in awkwardly "and it's not ginger,but even if it was,there are many lovely shades of red hair out there"

"Oh I know" Dec replied quickly "I don't mean to be offensive to anyone,it's just not the look I was going for,I wanted blonde,not this" he tapped the top of his head with his middle finger.

"I'd call it more a sandy brown" Mike smiled.

"I'm sorry Edith" Dec said "I don't mean to sound ungrateful,but it's really not me"

"I understand Declan" Edith replied "it's not really what I had in mind either,I'm not sure what happened"

"Don't worry Dec" Ant grinned "the good thing about hair is that it grows,give it a few weeks and you'll be back to normal"

"Or I could dye it back to your usual colour now?" Edith suggested.

"NO" Dec replied sharply,terrified at what the result might be after a second attempt "I mean,no thank you,it's ok,I can live with being sandy brown for a while"

"You know we have some photo shoots for magazines booked in don't you Dec?" Mike reminded him "and the photographer wants to get the pics for the album cover done soon too"

"What?" Dec asked surprised "but we've hardly started recording the new album,why does he want do do it so soon?"

"He's in demand Dec" Mike answered "he's booked up for months and months,he's one of the best in his field,so if we want him,which we basically do,we have to fit in with his plans,not the other way round"

"Great" Dec sighed "so the whole world is gonna see me looking like a Belisha beacon"

"Can I remind you Declan" Ant laughed "we're actually recording for the Ant and Dec show this week,so with or without this photographer,the whole world is still gonna see you with this new hairdo anyway"

"Yeah good point" Dec nodded,now reluctantly accepting he was stuck with this issue for the time being.

"Come on kidda" Ant smiled while ruffling Decs hair "it's really not that bad,I've got some news that'll cheer you up"

"What?" Dec asked curiously.

"Well" Ant smiled "while we were at the pub,Mike informed me that we'll be getting a little bit of time off"

"How come?" Dec enquired.

"Well" Mike continued the story "once this series is wrapped up,we thought it was only fair that you boys should have a bit of a break,you deserve it after all"

"Er...yeah,that's great,but what about the album?we're still in the middle of recording it,what about that?"

"Yeah you are" Mike smiled "but we can afford to let you go for a couple of weeks.Then get straight back to work afterwards.We think it's important for you guys to recharge your batteries,you work so hard,you've worked almost non stop since I've been your manager.Go and visit your families or go on holiday or something,anything other than working,then come back all bright eyed and bushy tailed,ready to pick up where you left off"

"A holiday does sound amazing" Dec smiled at Ant "what do you think Ant?you up for it?"

"Definitely" Ant laughed "Ibiza?"

"Nah" Dec replied "let's go somewhere a bit more exotic than that,we can afford it now after all"

"Where did you have in mind?" Ant asked.

"Dunno" Dec frowned "just somewhere nice and sunny and not full of pissed up English people"

"Dec" Ant laughed "can I remind you that you usually are one of those pissed up English people"

"Well,maybe I'm a bit more cultured these days" Dec grinned.

"Oh yeah?" Ant questioned amused.

"Yeah" Dec stated "I might just drink cocktails instead of lager,you'll see,very refined I am"

"Ok boys" Mike laughed "wherever you end up,just have a great time ok"

Ant and Dec had soon agreed with Telstar exactly which weeks they would take off.

They had decided to go back to Newcastle for a long weekend before returning to London to fly off to their holiday destination,much to their families delight.It was still proving to be very difficult for the boys to keep the promise they'd made to Anne to go home more often when she had turned up on the doorstep that day,work commitments still made it practically impossible,so this was the perfect opportunity to fulfill that promise.

After looking into what holidays were available,Ant and Dec were soon boarding a plane at Gatwick airport,preparing for the eight and a half hour flight to the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua.

"Can't wait for this" Dec smiled as he accepted a cold drink from the air hostess "it's gonna be so great.A week relaxing in the sun with my best mate,eating and drinking ourselves silly and no crowded beaches,who needs Ibiza?"

"Not me" Ant smiled.

The boys had booked themselves into first class,which helped enormously with Ants fear of flying.With the wide,comfortable seats,great food and drink available at the touch of a button,constant attention and service with a smile from the cabin crew,how could he not enjoy it?

Their flight arrived on the island late afternoon,they were promptly picked up by a hired driver and taken to their luxury hotel.The long flight had exhausted them though,so they decided to have dinner,then an early night before starting their holiday properly tomorrow.

As they relaxed on the reclining sunbeds around the vast swimming pool the next day,Dec was reminded of Annes cautious words as he'd said goodbye to her just a couple of days earlier.

"Don't forget your suncream Declan" she had reminded him "you know how easily you burn and make sure you use factor fifty,you know your sensitive Irish skin won't be able to handle that intense heat"

"Will you do my back please?" Dec asked Ant,with his Mams warnings still ringing in his ears.

He had already slathered his arms,legs,chest and stomach in the slippery,protective lotion,so once Ant has done the last bit,he could relax and enjoy his time around the pool.

"All done" Ant announced and patted Decs back "do mine please"

Once Dec had returned the favour,they started to work on their tans,although Dec doubted any rays would get through the protective barrier,but at least the the sun felt nice on his skin and he'd be getting some much needed vitamin D,something that was not so readily available at home thanks to the unpredictable British weather.

It wasn't long before Dec found himself drifting off into a light sleep for what he thought was no more than ten minutes.

When he awoke,he found Ant was no longer on his sunbed and sat up to look for him,but as he did so,a soaring pain shot through both of his feet.

"Ahhhh" he screamed out,quickly sinking back down onto his sunbed when he realised the other holiday makers were staring at him,shocked at his unexpected,high pitched scream.

"What's up Decs?" Ant asked as he climbed out of the swimming pool and made his way back over to where he'd left his friend "what are you yelling for?"

"My feet" Dec winced in agony "they're killing us"

"What?" Ant enquired "what's up with 'em"

"Dunno" Dec replied glumly "I just sat up and the pain shot through them"

"Declan" Ant replied seriously,peering at the tops of Decs feet "look at them,they're red raw"

Dec stared down at his feet.

"Sunburn?" He questioned.

"Looks like it mate" Ant replied sympathetically.

"But how can it be?" Dec asked confused "we've only been out here a little while and I only nodded off for a few minutes"

"Dec" Ant sighed,while glancing at his waterproof watch "you were asleep for over two hours"

"What?" Dec asked surprised "that can't be right,I thought I just had a little doze"

"I'm afraid not" Ant sighed.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Dec asked slightly annoyed.

"Why would I?" Ant retorted "you're on holiday,you're under a parasol,you're covered in suncream and most importantly...I'm not your Mam"

"I don't understand it" Dec frowned "how did I get sunburnt feet?"

"Maybe you only put suncream on your legs but didn't quite cover your feet properly?" Ant suggested "it's easily done and the shade from the parasol didn't cover that far down,plus the sun has moved around a little but during those two hours"

"Should have woken me up" Dec grumbled,wincing from the pain as he moved his feet.

Ant refused to react,knowing it would only lead to a silly argument if he did "come on mate,best get you out of the sun I think"

"Yeah" Dec agreed as he attempted to stand up "ow,ow,ow...Ant I can't stand,let alone walk,it hurts too much"

Ant looked deep in thought for a moment before crouching down in front of Dec.

"Ant,what are you doing?" Dec asked confused.

"Are you able to get on?" Ant enquired "I'll give you a piggy back up to the room,then you won't need to walk anywhere"

"I'll try" Dec replied as he leant his body against Ants back,before being carried back towards the hotel lift.

On the way,Ant stopped by the pool and crouched down again so Decs burning feet were dipped into the cool,soothing water.

"That's a bit better,thanks" Dec smiled.

As Ant continued the short journey,the pair got some strange looks from staff and holiday makers alike.

"Burnt his feet" Ant announced to anyone who looked at them suspiciously.

Dec was glad once they finally reached the comfort of their air conditioned room,where Ant placed him gently down onto the bed and had a closer inspection of his friends feet.

"You've really done some real damage there pal" Ant frowned "let me put some aftersun on for you"

"Thanks" Dec smiled gratefully as Ant stroked the soothing cream into his offending skin.

"I can feel the heat coming off of those" Ant announced sadly "gonna hurt for a while I think"

"They're bloody agony" Dec moaned "stupid sun"

"Stupid sunseekers more like" Ant replied playfully.

"Yeah,alright" Dec sighed "I didn't plan to fall asleep did I?first day of our holiday and I've already fucked it up"

"What do you want to do?" Ant enquired.

"Nothing I can do is there?" Dec replied "just gonna have to stay in the room till it heals.You might as well go back to the pool"

"You sure?" Ant asked,feeling guilty at the thought of leaving his friend alone with his suffering.

"Yeah" Dec smiled "no point in ruining both our holidays,I'll probably go back to sleep anyway,at least I won't be in pain when I'm sleeping"

"Ok Kidda" Ant smiled "and I'll see if they've got some stronger cream or something from the shop at reception when I come back"

Ant felt incredibly sorry for Dec,but also a bit annoyed at him as his stupidity would totally change their holiday plans.How could they go into the local town for dinner or explore the resort if Dec couldn't even walk?but he knew he'd have to let go of that resentment straight away as Dec was suffering and in pain,there would be other holidays in the future that they would enjoy and he was pretty sure Dec would learn a valuable lesson from this.

Ant did manage to find some more suitable cream to help soothe Decs burns,but it still took most of the week for them to heal properly and for Dec to even be able to walk short distances without being in pain.

He had spent most of the week stuck in the room,settling for ordering room service or Ant bringing up food from the buffet for him.

Ant meanwhile was having a great time relaxing around the pool,swimming in the sea,knocking back cocktails and hanging out with the new mates he'd made.He was sad Dec wasn't a part of it though and he missed his friends presence.

Finally,the day before they were due to fly home,Decs feet had healed enough for him to venture out of the room once again

He wanted to go to the beach as he'd still only seen it from his hotel balcony.

"Want to put some socks on?" Ant joked "be some protection like"

"Shut up" Dec shook his head at Ant playfully "I'm not taking any risks this time anyway"

He proceeded to smother his feet in a ridiculous amount of suncream.

"Come on then" Dec smiled "I wanna check out this beach,looks amazing"

As they made their way downstairs and past the swimming pool,a young boy pointed at Dec and called out,

"Burnt feet boy"

Dec smiled at the kid politely before turning towards Ant.

"Great" he frowned "is that what they're calling me now?burnt feet boy?"

"You know what kids are like Decs" Ant laughed "they don't exactly understand tact and anyway,that's what you are"

Dec did at least enjoy his last day of the disastrous holiday,but felt it necessary to apologise to Ant for spoiling things.Ant accepted his apology graciously,keeping quiet about the great time he'd actually had even though Dec had been incapacitated.

Soon it was all forgotten about as they got back to work with recording the album and filming for the Ant and Dec show.These two projects kept them extremely busy and the writers of the show were coming up with increasingly ridiculous ideas to keep the viewers entertained.

One segment that had proved to be particularly popular was "beat the barber" and was a firm favourite of David walliams,one of the writers.

By now this guy had started to grow on Ant and Dec,their initial thoughts that he was a bit of an oddball were soon changed to realising he was just a bit of an attention seeking funny guy and they really started to like him.

"Look at this girl" David ordered the boys as he showed them a photo one day "her name's Laurie and she's applied for beat the barber"

"Oh my God" Ant replied shocked "but look at that beautiful,long auburn hair,what if she loses?"

"Well if she loses" David smirked mischievously.

"We cut it all off!"