Amanda Holden opens up on 'hilarious' rumour that was spread about Les Dennis divorce
Amanda Holden opens up on 'hilarious' rumour that was spread about Les Dennis divorce
Amanda Holden has opened up about her divorce from Les Dennis and revealed the most 'hilarious' and far-fetched lie that was spread about the end of their marriage
Amanda Holden and Les Dennis divorced in 2003
Amanda Holden has finally set the record straight regarding a "hilarious" rumour surrounding her split from Les Dennis.
The Britain's Got Talent judge, who was married to the comedian from 1995 until 2003 and parted ways following an affair with Neil Morrissey, has since found long-term happiness with husband Chris Hughes.
Nevertheless, a candid Amanda reminisced about a particularly amusing media blunder involving her friend Jane Wall – an actress of mixed heritage – while discussing her former marriage on the Tea At Four podcast.
Sharing a laugh about the mistaken identity incident, she said: "I hate to bring it up, but when I was going through a divorce, my friend Jane Wall, who is a mixed-race actress, was living in my house. We were helping her, she was living there basically so she could save up for a mortgage and, it [the newspaper article] said, my then-husband was being 'comforted by Diana Ross'. So that was hilarious."
Amanda Holden is the host of the new Netflix show Cheat: Unfinished Business
(Image: WireImage )
Les Dennis himself had previously addressed this bizarre press error during an interview with the Independent in 2004. On the most outlandish stories spun about him, he'd remarked: "Well, there've been a few, but there was one instance that was particularly ridiculous."
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Recounting the events that led to the wild misreporting, he continued: "When everything was going a bit crazy a few years ago, a friend of mine, Jane Wall, was visiting my house. She's an actress who's been in The Bill, among other things. When she left, these two journalists chased her down the street in a car.
"The next day, the headline said that I was being comforted by pop diva Diana Ross." In the podcast, Amanda discussed the topic of infidelity and stressed the importance of trust in any relationship: "If the trust's been broken, you have to repair the trust, and that can be tough."
Her debut on television was on Blind Date, a British dating game show that rose to fame in the 80s. Despite the show's romantic theme, she confessed during her interview that while participating, she had a boyfriend, attributing her appearance to seeking a TV break during her time at drama school.
Amanda has now been with Chris Hughes for 20 years
(Image: Getty Images )
Amanda, now 54, married her now-husband Chris in 2008 and shares two daughters with him. In an interview with Hello! magazine, she expressed pride in their "healthy" relationship, saying: "When my husband came out to visit during filming, I felt grateful to be in a lovely, secure relationship.
"We have ups and downs like everyone else. But when I was looking at the pain and suffering that some of the people we were working with were going through, I felt so grateful that I had somebody in my life with no complications."
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During the podcast, when asked about the 'rose, thorn and banana' of her career – highlighting the high point, low point and something random – Amanda referred to Britain's Got Talent as her 'banana'. She elaborated: "I was an actress up until that point. I think Simon is obviously famous, that he asked Cheryl Cole to do it first.
"She turned it down... From there, I just seemed to have turned into a host and a presenter and I don't really act particularly anymore." As she reflected on the high points of her career, Amanda acknowledged that last year "just never stopped." It was during this non-stop period that an exciting opportunity arose with Netflix.
"When I was asked if I would host a relationship show on Netflix, I just thought, 'surely I've reached the top of Everest now'," she revealed. "Because this is all I've ever wanted. Because Netflix seems so out of our reach as British people, and slowly us Brits are trickling in."
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