Les Dennis’ rare confession about his ex-wife Amanda Holden has been revealed – as he became the first star to be booted from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night.
The TV personality, 69, – who left the show with his professional partner Nancy Xu – recently made a surprising confession about his former love following their troubled past.
Rewind 30 years, in 1993 the then 40-year-old host of Family Fortunes met and fell in love with Amanda, who was 22 and building her own stage career, when they were both starring in a production of The Sound Of Music.
After treading the boards together in Bournemouth, they married two years later in 1995 in a lavish ceremony with a magazine spread and luxury trimmings.
However, things came to an end five years later when it was revealed that Amanda had an affair with her Happy Birthday Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey – something she later insisted was ‘just about sex’.
The past: Les Dennis’s rare confession about his ex-wife Amanda Holden has been revealed – as he became the first star to be booted from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night
Dancing: The TV personality, 69, – who left the show with his professional partner Nancy Xu (pictured) – recently made a surprising confession about his former love after their troubled past
After a brief split in 2000, they got back together, but called it quits for good in 2002.
And talk to The Sunday times Recently, Les said he was over the events and was happy for her in her new life.
He said: ‘Amanda was in the paper recently and said nice things about me. That was very kind of her. Perhaps over time she has been able to look back and see things differently.
‘We don’t have contact, but I’m glad she’s happy. I can watch Britain’s Got Talent without getting angry. Honestly, it’s like I’m looking at another person, someone I’ve never met. All the pain that happened has been healed.”
Les – who is now married to his third wife Claire Nicholson – even considered the prospect of Amanda playing herself in the film of his life.
During the White Wine Question Time podcast, Les opened up about the idea of a hypothetical biopic, saying, “I guess Amanda should be there.
“It’s a huge chapter in my life, and I have no idea who to play that role.”
Speaking about the breakup afterwards, Amanda said: ‘I brought it on myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be that bad again. It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt like I could barely breathe.”
Previously: Rewind 30 years, in 1993 the then 40-year-old host of Family Fortunes met Amanda, who was 22, and fell in love with her own stage career, when they both starred in a production of The Sound Of Music (seen in 2000). )
Sexy stuff: However, things came to an end five years later when it was revealed that Amanda had an affair with her Happy Birthday Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey – something she later insisted was ‘just about sex’ (Neil and Amanda seen in 2003)
Pain: Speaking about the break-up afterwards, Amanda said: ‘I did it to myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be that bad again’ (the couple seen in 2000)
She later said, “In some ways I’ve always admired him for the way he doesn’t try to hide his real emotions. He’s honest about how he feels…
‘My problem is that I’m a people pleaser. I may feel down, but I will always put on a happy face for the rest of the world…
“And I’m ruled by my heart, not my head. I always have been and that gets me into trouble. I’m not an enigma. All my life I wished I could be mysterious…
‘But I’m not. I don’t know what it is about me, but people have always noticed the slightest comment or something insignificant I’ve done, and suddenly I’m in the papers again.’
In 2014, Neil finally apologized to game show host Les for the affair he had with his then wife Amanda. The star, who has previously said he has not apologized to Les, admitted as much on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
He said: ‘I feel sorry for the way the situation was handled and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and I’m sorry for that.’
His comment came after Piers asked him if he had ever apologized to Les, to which he replied: ‘No, I haven’t. I’m not sure what there are excuses for. I don’t know what the whole situation was like, to be honest with everyone.’
Earlier this year, Les tickled fans when he appeared to take a swipe at his ex-wife after she posted a slew of saucy snaps from Paris to her Instagram.
Les left tongues wagging after apparently making a joke on his former partner’s post.
Amanda shared a series of snaps of herself during an evening in the French capital.
Les then cheekily posted a photo from his less-than-luxurious dressing room – while touring the country with musical 42nd Street – and wrote: ‘Not in Paris. In Leicester’.
Les has been married to Claire Nicholson since 2009 after meeting in 2005. They have daughter Grace, 15, and son Thomas, 12.
Prior to his marriage to Amanda, Les was married to Lynn Webster from 1974 to 1990, with whom he shares son Phillip.
About: Les said he had a great time on the show after losing in the dance competition against Asian BBC presenter Nikita Kanda
His love: Les has been married to Claire Nicholson since 2009 after meeting in 2005. They have daughter Grace, 15, and son Thomas, 12 (Les and Claire in 2019)
Happy couple: Amanda married her husband, music producer Chris Hughes, in 2008 (pictured together in 2014)
Amanda has been married to Chris Hughes since 2009 and they share two daughters. In July, Les recalled the surprising first time he saw Chris.
In a strange twist of fate, Les was managed by Chris’ father Mike Hughes early in his career and first met the record producer when he was a small child.
Speaking Question time about white wine with Kate Thornton he said, “I tell this story in my book that when Mike became my manager in 1973 and Lynne and I were about to get married – my first wife, Lynne – we were excited that Mike had become my manager.”
‘She said ‘let’s drive past his house’ because he lived on Queens Drive in Liverpool, we were passing and the curtains were open, and I said ‘look, there he is’, and we saw Mike Hughes picking up a little kid and swing the child around’.