After more than two decades of silence, Les Dennis has finally opened up about the heartbreak that changed his life forever — and the brutal words from Amanda Holden that left him shattered.
“No woman cheats without a reason,” Amanda once told him. “I want children… but not with you. I don’t want them to look like you.”
Les admits he “nearly fainted” when she said it — a moment that marked the emotional collapse of their marriage and one of the most talked-about scandals in British showbiz history.
“It was like the air left the room,” Les confessed. “You think you’re prepared for heartbreak — but nothing prepares you for hearing something like that from someone you love.”
A LOVE STORY THAT STARTED LIKE A FAIRYTALE
In the beginning, it was pure magic. Les Dennis, the much-loved Family Fortunes host and comedian, met Amanda Holden — a rising TV actress 17 years his junior — in the early 1990s during a stage production of The Sound of Music. Their chemistry was undeniable.
They married in 1995, when Les was 40 and Amanda was just 23. The age gap didn’t seem to matter — Britain’s tabloids dubbed them “the golden couple of comedy and glamour.”
Les recalls, “She was beautiful, full of energy, and I felt lucky. People told me it wouldn’t last, but I didn’t listen. I thought love could beat the odds.”
But fame, age, and pressure began to chip away at their fairy tale. While Amanda’s career soared, Les was struggling privately — emotionally and professionally.
By 2000, the cracks were no longer invisible.
THE AFFAIR THAT SHOOK BRITAIN
In 2000, the Mirror broke the story that Amanda had been having an affair with actor Neil Morrissey, star of Men Behaving Badly and later Line of Duty. The revelation caused a national frenzy.
Amanda, then 29, later admitted the affair was “a mistake” but not one without cause.
“Women don’t seek sex — we seek love and affirmation,” she said years later. “No woman has an affair for no reason.”
The betrayal hit Les like a freight train. Still, in an act of grace and confusion, he tried to forgive her. The couple briefly reconciled and even appeared together on Richard & Judy, insisting they were “working through it.”
But privately, the wounds were too deep to heal.
“MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THEN…”
Looking back, Les now says there were signs their relationship was doomed long before the headlines.
He recounted one story that has become almost symbolic of their marriage:
“It was Grand National Day,” Les said. “A plumber was fixing the washing machine at our house in Highgate. Amanda came running in, saying, ‘We need to put a bet on!’
I gave her ten quid. She said, ‘That’s not enough!’
So I said, ‘Twenty?’ And the plumber went, ‘Kids, eh?’”
Les chuckled, “Maybe I should have known then that something wasn’t right. She wasn’t a kid — she was my wife. But that moment stuck with me.”
When the affair finally came to light, he says, it felt like the world turned against him.
“Everyone was waiting for us to fail,” Les admitted. “But nobody told me.”
THE DIANA ROSS RUMOUR THAT MADE THEM BOTH LAUGH
As if the scandal wasn’t dramatic enough, tabloids added fuel to the fire with one of the strangest rumours of the decade — that Les Dennis had found comfort in the arms of Diana Ross.
The story, which spread across British newspapers, claimed the heartbroken host had “sought solace” from the legendary soul singer after Amanda’s affair.
Amanda recently revealed on the Tea at Four podcast that the rumour came from a hilarious misunderstanding.
“My friend Jane Wall — a mixed-race actress — was staying at my house during the divorce,” Amanda explained. “When she left, photographers chased her down the street.
The next day, the papers said Les was being comforted by Diana Ross! It was so ridiculous — but to this day, it still makes me laugh.”
Les later confirmed it was completely false.
“It was one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read,” he said. “Jane was a friend — not Diana Ross! But I guess that’s what happens when the press smells drama.”
AMANDA’S “HORRIBLY BRUTAL” CONFESSION
Years later, Amanda Holden herself acknowledged that she was the one who wanted out.
“I desperately wanted children, but I didn’t want them with Les,” she told The Sun. “That’s a horribly brutal thing to say — but when you feel that, you know it’s time to move on.”
She added that the fallout from the affair was “the hardest thing I’ve ever faced.”
“I found the fall from grace incredibly difficult. Overnight, I went from being loved to being hated. I was the villain — and I deserved some of it.”
Amanda has since rebuilt her image, becoming a national TV favourite and a household name as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. But she admits she still carries the lessons — and regrets — from that time.
“There are no hard feelings with Les,” she said. “I wish him happiness. We both moved on. I just made a mistake.”
MOVING ON, WITH GRACE
After separating in 2002 and divorcing in 2003, both stars eventually found peace — and love again.
Les married Claire Nicholson in 2009, and the couple have two children, Eleanor and Thomas. Amanda married Chris Hughes, a record producer, in 2008; they have two daughters, Lexi and Hollie.
In a recent interview, Les reflected on how time had softened the pain.
“Amanda said some lovely things about me recently,” he told The Times. “Maybe time helps you see things differently. We’re not in touch, but I’m happy she’s happy.”
He even admitted he can now watch her on TV without bitterness.
“It’s like watching a different person,” he said. “All the hurt that once existed… it’s gone. The wounds healed.”
TWO LIVES, ONE STORY
Though their marriage ended in heartbreak, both Les and Amanda have found their own happy endings — and a surprising ability to look back with humor and compassion.
From a plumber’s innocent comment that foreshadowed their troubles, to the bizarre Diana Ross headline that became a running joke, their story has all the elements of a British love tragedy — passion, fame, pain, and redemption.
And yet, through it all, Les Dennis remains the picture of grace.
“You can forgive,” he said softly. “You can move on. But some words… you never forget.”
