Inside Les Dennis’s rollercoaster life from reality TV breakdown to marital affair as he is set to join Strictly
HE’S a veteran entertainer who’s tried his hand at practically everything in the showbiz world.
And there are few that can rival Strictly star Les Dennis’s colourful career in front of camera, on stage and privately, too.
Having honed his comedy act on the stages of northern working men’s clubs, Les, 69, shot to fame in 1974 after winning ITV talent show New Faces.
That same year he married his first wife Lynne Webster, with whom he has a son called Philip.
It was in the 80s that Les’s telly career really took off after impressing on The Russ Abbot Show, alongside Dustin Gee.
Les and Dustin’s chemistry led to them securing their own programme, The Laughter Show, which Les continued on his own after Dustin’s shock death in 1986 from a heart attack aged just 43.
A year later, he was offered the opportunity to host popular game show Family Fortunes. Les soon made it his own and remained on the programme for 15 years.
And while hosting it in 1997, he was surprised by Michael Aspel for an episode of This Is Your Life, which honoured his career up until that point.
In 1995, five years after divorcing wife Lynne, Les tied the knot with the then up-and-coming actress Amanda Holden, who was 17 years his junior.
The star couple’s union was rocked by a cheating scandal in 2000 when it emerged Amanda had been having an affair with Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey.
The couple’s marriage survived for a couple more years, but it was never the same after Amanda’s infidelity, and they divorced in 2003.
While the relationship was in its death throes, Les starred in Celebrity Big Brother, something he later described as “not the wisest move”.
Though he finished second to Take That‘s Mark Owen, he was emotionally vulnerable during the show and referenced his marriage woes numerous times in conversations with his housemates, which sparked concern from viewers.
Les recently opened up about being estranged from Amanda and said his pain has healed.
He told The Sunday Times: “Amanda was in the papers recently, saying some nice things about me.
“That was very kind of her. Maybe with time she has been able to look back and see things differently.”
He added: “We’re not in touch but I am happy that she’s happy. I can watch Britain’s Got Talent without getting angry. To be honest, it’s like watching a different person, someone I’ve never met. All the hurt that has happened has been healed.”
Les found his feet in the mid-noughties when he met third wife Claire Nicholson, with whom he has two children.
His career had a huge upturn, too, after he scored a cameo role in Ricky Gervais‘s Extras, which Les says “changed his life”.
The following year he hosted BBC One’s The Sound of Musicals and landed roles in star-studded pantomimes.
In 2014 he scored the role of petty burglar Michael Rodwell in Coronation Street. He was a regular on the cobbles for two years before the character died from a heart attack.
Les has now landed another late career comeback on Strictly Come Dancing.
He was revealed as the final star signing of this year’s line-up on Good Morning Britain.
Les disagreed when host Ben Shephard suggested Strictly will be a walk in the park for him because of his stage experience.
He said: “I do those shows, but when it comes to those things what I do is movement.
“I do a little soft shoe shuffle with Michael Ball in Hairspray, but when it comes to… I’m not trained at all and certainly not when it comes to ballroom and Latin. I don’t know about the Cha Cha Cha.”
