03 October 2023 , 08:37
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It was the showbiz marriage of the year when Blind Date's Amanda Holden, then 22, and comedian Les Dennis, then 40, tied the knot in June 1995. But when Amanda's affair with actor Neil Morrissey, while starring in BBC 's Happy Birthday Shakespeare, made headlines five years later, the couple's relationship came to a heartbreaking end.
After spending some time apart to try and make the marriage work, Amanda and Les filed for a divorce in 2003, by which point they were both in new relationships. While it was his wife who had the marital affair, Les let Amanda claim his adultery on the papers to speed up the process. She said his 'affair' with an unnamed woman made it 'intolerable' to live with him.
Amanda cheated on Les with a BBC co-star in 2000 and they finally filed for divorce in 2003 (Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
Amanda later admitted that she was broody but didn't want to have children with Les (Getty Images)Les had met PR executive Leoni Cotgrove in January 2003, while Amanda was dating music industry boss Chris Hughes. At the time of their split, 32-year-old Amanda shared a devastating confession about their relationship and why she felt so ready to move on.
She said she was 'very broody' and could see herself having multiple children in the next couple of years. "I terribly want children but I didn't want to have them with Les," Amanda explained. "That's a horribly brutal thing to say, but when you do, you know you have to move on." She admitted it was her who finally suggested getting a divorce to Les.
Now, Strictly Come Dancing star Les and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda are on civil terms, and Amanda is married to Chris. The pair went on to have two daughters, Alexa 'Lexi' and Hollie, and married in 2008. Les has been married to his third wife, Claire Nicholson, since 2009 and they share two children, daughter Eleanor and son Thomas.
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Amanda later spoke out about her affair in the spotlight and said: "I found the fall from grace incredibly hard to deal with. I can't bear not to be liked. Then I had an affair and overnight turned into this awful person. There are no hard feelings with Les. I wish him the best, but we've both moved on. I don't believe women have affairs for no reason. Women don't seek sex - we seek love and affirmation."
While Les has since said he has forgiven Amanda, he can still pinpoint the exact moment he knew their relationship was no more. In his memoir Must The Show Go On?, the star attributes his exit from Celebrity Big Brother 2002 as the final nail in the coffin for their marriage.
At the very end of his time on the show, presenter Davina McCall said Amanda had taped a message for him. "My heart filled with dread - she couldn't even be bothered to do it live," Les wrote. "Suddenly she was on screen, not alone but with two of her Cutting It co-stars. That was my defining moment. As viewers watched me watch her jabber on about my amazing honesty, the words 'I love you and I'm proud of you' never crossing her lips, I came to the final decision that this charade of a marriage was over."