Inside Lenny Henry's sudden split from Dawn French after 25 years together

10 October 2023 , 09:22

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Inside Lenny Henry's sudden split from Dawn French after 25 years together

Lenny Henry and Dawn French enjoyed one of the longest marriages in showbiz before they split in 2010.

The Vicar of Dibley actress and the Three Little birds star, both 65, got hitched in what Lenny called a "fancy-schmancy chi-chi hall" in London's Covent Garden in 1984 after meeting on the comedy circuit. But 25 years later they decided to call it a day while continuing to co-parent their daughter, Billie.

Announcing their shock split in 2010, the couple released a statement, saying: "The separation is entirely amicable and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship. Their priority is to commit to the future joint parenting of their daughter."

Comedians Lenny Henry and Dawn French got married in a 'fancy-schmancy chi-chi hall' in 1984 (Press Association)

Lenny and Dawn rarely speak about why they decided to end their marriage, but in 2012, the bubbly Brummie told The Mirror he had become closer to the couple's daughter, Billie, now 31, because of the separation.

Explaining why the couple had decided to split, he told the Express in 2016: "There’s generally a situation where one partner wants the marriage to finish more than the other. I think maybe one of us did, then the other one did, and then the other did over a period of time and then, in the end, we thought, 'Oh, actually maybe we both do'. We knew it wasn't possible to continue."

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After the split, Dawn told The Mirror: “Remarkably, we seem to have shifted with relative ease from a 25-year marriage to a lasting friendship.I am amazed by us – there is no war, we’ve turned out to be the best of friends. There were lots of good years but one tricky last year.”

She added: “This had been a very happy marriage for a very long time and you don't stop looking after each other or caring for each other, whatever has happened."

The French and Saunders star Dawn later joked her knickers were behind the split, telling the Sun in 2014: "Maybe I should have worn more interesting pants and I'd still be married to him."

It had been reported Lenny had cheated on Dawn in 1999, an allegation he denied. However, Dawn's unofficial biographer Alison Boyer said the comic duo had been 'outgrowing' their marriage before their split. "[Dawn] and Lenny have long been moving in increasingly different directions and have spent little time together in the past two years," she told The Mail.

The much-loved actress went on to fall in love with Mark Bignell, the co-founder of charity Hamoaze House. The couple married in 2013 and live together in Cornwall. Dawn called her husband a "keeper" after he presented her with a box of hearts on their anniversary. Meanwhile, Lenny, has been in a long-term relationship with theatre director Lisa Makin since 2013.

Victoria Johns