Reflecting on the early days of her previous marriage, Amanda Holden shared that upon her first encounter with Les Dennis, she felt he needed “mothering.” In her autobiography ‘No Holding Back’, the Britain’s Got Talent judge revealed their contrasting personalities. She commented: “At first he thought I was loud, overconfident and a bit brash, which was probably true,” and also mentioned: “I thought he was a bit of a miserable sod.”
Despite Les being 16 years her senior, Amanda experienced an urge to care for the comedian. “He seemed sad, quiet and troubled and I instinctively wanted to help,” Holden wrote.
Their relationship began backstage at Bournemouth’s Pavilion Theatre during The Sound of Music production. As cast members mingled and spent time at bowling alleys on their days off, conversations between Amanda and Les became a common occurrence, reports the Liverpool Echo.
In these moments, Les opened up to his younger colleague about his first marriage’s dissolution to Lynne – whom he’d married just three years following Amanda’s birth – sharing his regrets about the limited contact he had with his son Philip, as reported by the Mirror.
Amanda, who celebrated her 54th birthday on Sunday, February 16, reflected on the evolution of their bond, noting that they were merely platonic friends for quite some time, stating: “I don’t think I consciously fancied him at this stage.”
Nonetheless, the connection blossomed, and by 1995, a few years after they initially met, they decided to get married, embarking on their journey as husband and wife.
However, their union was short-lived, ending just five years on as news of Amanda’s affair with Neil Morrissey – her co-star in Happy Birthday Shakespeare – came to light. In a bid to confront the frenzy around their split head-on, Les joined the cast of Celebrity Big Brother for its second series in 2002.
Yet, he would later remark that participating in the show was “not one of his wisest moves”. Addressing the impact of the affair’s exposure, Amanda spoke to the Daily Mail about how the intense media spectacle during their marriage collapse was the “worst time of her life”.
She reflected: “I brought it on myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be as bad again. It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt I could hardly breathe.”
The mother of two confessed her self-loathing for deceiving Les. Despite attempts to mend their bond, the couple were unable to reconcile, ultimately divorcing in 2003.
