Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden was once married to television star Les Dennis
Amanda Holden has been married to husband Chris Hughes for 18 years, but fans may have forgotten that she was once wed to a fellow celeb.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge was with TV star Les Dennis – who is known for hosting shows including Family Fortunes and for finishing as runner-up to Take That’s Mark Owen on Celebrity Big Brother in 2002 – for eight years.
The pair were married to each other from 1995 until 2003, when they went their separate ways.
So how did they meet in the first place, and what happened to their romance?
Meeting on The Sound of Music
Amanda and Les first crossed paths when they were both cast in the same production, reports the Express.
They both bagged roles in The Sound of Music at Bournemouth’s Pavilion Theatre in 1993, when Les was 40 and Amanda was 18 years his junior at 22.
They struck up a friendship to start with and ended up dating and falling for each other.
Wedding bells
Two years after their initial meeting on the musical’s set, the pair announced they had officially walked down the aisle in a lavish ceremony.
The 1995 nuptials were covered exclusively by Hello! magazine and saw the Heart Radio presenter wearing a flowing white satin gown to mark the momentous occasion. The dress boasted a deep, square neckline and was complemented by long white gloves and a glittering tiara nestled within her retro beehive hairstyle.
Amanda’s new husband chose to wear a deep blue two-piece suit for the ceremony, paired with a paisley cream waistcoat and a white pointed-collar shirt.
Break up
Five years into their marriage, it emerged that the couple had gone their separate ways after it was reported that Amanda had an affair with Waterloo Road actor Neil Morrissey.
Years later, the actress opened up to Good Housekeeping, saying: “Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick. I feel like it was my fault – I was the one who was married.”
Amanda and Les split but did reconcile, but then in 2002 they confirmed their relationship had permanently ended, finalising their divorce a year later.
In 2014, Neil addressed what happened during an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, saying: “I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and for that I’m very sorry.”
Decades on, Les broke his silence on what happened, saying in an interview with The Sunday Times that “all the hurt that has happened has been healed”.
The TV star went on the marry Claire Nicholson in 2005, with the couple starting a family together.
Amanda shares two daughters with husband Chris.
Britain’s Got Talent airs at 6.45pm on ITV on Saturday (March 28).
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