Les Dennis: how old is Strictly star, who is his wife, was he married to Amanda Holden - why did they split?

Les Dennis has been revealed as the final celebrity contestant to take to the dance floor in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The 69-year-old comedian, actor and former Family Fortunes presenter appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to make the announcement, telling viewers “I’m excited and I’m terrified. People at any age can do anything”.

Dennis, who starred in Coronation Street will join a packed Strictly line-up which includes TV presenter Angela Scanlon, BBC Asian Network’s Breakfast Show host Nikita Kanda, Bad Education star Layton Williams and broadcaster Angela Rippon.

So how much do we really know about Les Dennis? Is the Strictly star in a relationship, does he have a wife and what happened with Amanda Holden? Here’s everything you need to know.

How old is Les Dennis?

Dennis was born on 12 October, 1953 making him 69-years-old. Speaking on Good Morning Britain he told presenters that he will be touring with the musical 42nd Street, as well as doing Strictly, so will be “dancing all night” ahead of his 70th birthday.

The average age of this year’s Strictly contestants is 42, making it the highest since 2017 and close to the highest in the show’s history, which was 45 in 2010.

Is Les Dennis married?

Dennis has been married to his wife, Claire Nicholson since 2009. The couple reportedly met at a charity ball in 2005 and share two children. Nicholson is Dennis’ third wife, the comedian and actor was previously married to his first wife Lynn Webster for 16-years, before famously marrying his second wife Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden in 1995.

What happened with Amanda Holden?

Dennis and Holden married in 1995, with the couple staying together for eight years. Dennis was Holden’s first husband, with the couple tying the knot when she was just 23- years- old and the comedian was 40. They divorced in 2002 after Holden had an affair with the actor Neil Morrisey.

In 2013, Holden spoke about the affair in an interview with Good Housekeeping. She said: “I don’t believe women have affairs for no reason. Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick. I feel like it was my fault. I was the one who was married.” She added: “I want to change the general perception of him, as he was very caring and very loving.”

Morrisey apologised for his role in the affair in 2014 during an episode on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories. Reported by the Daily Mail, the Men Behaving Badly actor said: “I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and for that I’m very sorry.”

Dennis has since shared that he has forgiven Holden, telling The Times, he is “happy that she’s happy”. He continued: “Amanda was in the papers recently, saying some nice things about me. That was very kind of her.

“Maybe with time she has been able to look back and see things differently. We’re not in touch but I am happy that she’s happy.”

He continued: “I can watch Britain’s Got Talent without getting angry. To be honest it’s like watching a different person, someone I’ve never met.” Adding: “All the hurt that has happened has been healed.”

How big was the age gap between Les Dennis and Amanda Holden?

The couple tied the knot in 1995 when Holden was just 23- years- old and Dennis was 40- years- old, giving a 17-year age gap between the pair.

How many children does Les Dennis have?

Dennis has three children, a son, Phillip with his first wife, a daughter called Eleanor Grace, born in 2008 and a son, Thomas Christopher in 2011, with his current wife.

What has he said about being on Strictly?

Revealing the news on Good Morning Britain, Dennis shared that he was “excited” to be appearing on Strictly. He continued: “I’m excited and I’m terrified. People at any age can do anything.”

He also revealed how he had almost given the game away after he accidently leaked the news on Twitter ahead of the announcement. He explained: “What happened was the Strictly producers ask you to send a playlist of songs you might like, so I tried to and I’m totally hopeless at social media and all that stuff.

“So my daughter put my playlist together and put ‘Strictly Les Dennis’ and I sent it to my agent by email, but must have done a fat finger mistake and pressed Twitter by mistake.”

When will Strictly Come Dancing start?

The BBC has not yet confirmed when the new season of Strictly will start, but it’s expected to kick off at the end of September.