Amanda Holden says 'I hate to bring it up' as she addresses wild Les Dennis story

Daily Mirror

05-05-2025

Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden has opened up about her split from Les Dennis, and the 'ridiculous' dating rumours that emerged at the time
Amanda Holden has set the record straight about a "hilarious" rumour that followed her split with Les Dennis.
Amanda, who became a household name on Britain's Got Talent, was married to the actor from 1995 until their divorce in 2003 after an affair with actor Neil Morrissey. She has since found long-lasting happiness with Chris Hughes, but recently opened up about a bizarre mix-up involving her ex and Diana Ross.
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During a candid chat on the Tea At Four podcast, she recalled: "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."
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Les himself couldn't believe the outlandish claims, as he shared in a 2004 interview with the Independent. Reflecting on some of the wildest media stories he'd encountered, Les said: "Well, there've been a few, but there was one instance that was particularly ridiculous."
He continued to expose the farcical mistake, adding, "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."
Amanda opened up on the podcast about the complexities of trust in relationships, stating: "If the trust's been broken, you have to repair the trust, and that can be tough." She reminisced about her first TV gig on Blind Dates, revealing that despite the show's romantic focus, she was actually in a relationship at the time, viewing it as nothing more than a chance to shine during her drama school years.
Now 54, Amanda is proud of her family life with husband Chris, whom she wed in 2008. She gushed to Hello! magazine about their bond: "When my husband came out to visit during filming, I felt grateful to be in a lovely, secure relationship."
Despite life's inevitable challenges, Amanda feels blessed, especially when considering others' hardships: "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 quizzed about her 'rose, thorn and banana' – the highs, lows, and unexpected turns in her career – Amanda labelled Britain's Got Talent as her 'banana'. She continued: "I was an actress up until that point. I think Simon is obviously famous, that he asked Cheryl Cole to do it first."
Amanda confessed: "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." Reflecting on a career highlight, Amanda shared that the past year had been "non-stop".
Her next big break came when she was approached to front Netflix 's Cheat: Unfinished Business. "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 recalled.
"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."