Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly obtained the Norwich Pharmacal Order from Judge Iain Pester after filing their claim in August 2025, according to The Art Newspaper. The order requires Lilley and his firm Lilley Fine Art Ltd to release information about dealings with an unnamed art consultant referred to only as X, who managed the presenters’ purchases, sales and loans of contemporary artworks until their relationship ended in September 2021. The pair paid £550,000 through the consultant for six Banksy prints depicting Kate Moss in the style of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe series, yet the seller received just £300,000, leaving a £250,000 discrepancy that forms the core of their claim of secret and unauthorised profits.
Court documents show the consultant operated on an agreed 10 percent commission for handling the presenters’ personal and joint art collection, The Independent reported. In a separate transaction, the pair received £11,000 for the sale of a Banksy Napalm print that had actually sold for £13,000, creating an additional £2,000 gap after commission, according to BBC News. Harry Martin, counsel for Ant and Dec, told the High Court hearing on 3 March 2026 that the presenters seek to uncover what happened to these sums across at least 22 transactions involving the consultant and Lilley Fine Art.
Lilley Fine Art is not accused of any wrongdoing in the case and had declined voluntary disclosure on confidentiality grounds before the court intervened, a BBC News report stated. Judge Pester determined that the presenters had established a good arguable case that a legally recognised wrong had occurred, though he made no findings of liability against the consultant or any party. The ruling compels disclosure to allow Ant and Dec to trace the full details of the transactions and any missing funds.
MyArtBroker’s June 2026 valuation guide places the median price for Banksy prints at around £20,000 in 2025, reflecting a return to pre-boom levels after the market peaked above £70,000 in 2021. The Kate Moss series involved in the disputed purchase remains among the artist’s more recognisable and sought-after editions, often commanding premiums for signed impressions in strong condition. Andipa Editions’ September 2026 auction analysis found that iconic Banksy images continued to attract selective buyer interest at major London sales despite an overall correction from pandemic-era highs.
The presenters enlisted the consultant specifically to advise on building their collection, which included buying, selling, loaning, storing and insuring works, according to filings reviewed by ARTnews. Their lawyer described the suspected wrongdoing as the consultant and associated company making secret profits by not passing on full sale amounts while presenting lower figures to Ant and Dec. Similar concerns extend to a substantial sum allegedly lost across the broader set of 22 deals with Lilley Fine Art.
Andrew Lilley told the BBC that the dispute remains a matter between Ant and Dec and the third-party consultant. The case highlights ongoing complexities in the intermediary-driven segment of the art market where commissions and transaction chains can obscure final figures. No trial date has been set as the order focuses solely on securing the disclosure of records at this stage.
