Amanda Holden says she regrets ‘hurting’ Les Dennis during marriage

Amanda Holden has said she regrets hurting TV presenter Les Dennis during their tumultuous marriage.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge opened up about her relationship with the former Family Fortunes host during a conversation with friend Alan Carr on their BBC series.

Holden married Dennis in 1995, and they separated in 2002, two years after she admitted to an affair with Men Behaving Badly actor Neil Morrissey.

Holden and Dennis attempted to recover their marriage after the infidelity hit the headlines, but they ultimately divorced in 2003.

“I mean, obviously we’ve both been through a divorce, we’ve both made mistakes, and as much as I regret hurting people, maybe, or causing chaos, it shapes you to who you are in this moment,” Holden said on Amanda and Alan’s Greek Job.

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She added: “And I think life is too short to have regrets.”

Holden was 23 when she married then-40-year-old Dennis in 1995, and she met Morrissey while working on BBC show Happy Birthday Shakespeare.

She previously said the aftermath of her affair was the darkest time in her life, telling the Mail: “I brought it on myself.

“Nothing will ever be as bad again. It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt I could hardly breathe.”

She said that Dennis “ironically” helped her through: “So the person I’d hurt the most in the world was the one who was there for me.”

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Holden has been married to Chris Hughes since 2008, and the couple have two daughters: Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13. Meanwhile, Dennis married Claire Nicholson in 2009, with whom he has two children.

In 2023, Dennis spoke about how he harbours no ill will towards his ex-wife.

“We’re not in touch, but I am happy that she’s happy,” he told The Sunday Times. “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. All the hurt that has happened has been healed.”

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Elsewhere in Amanda and Alan’s Greek Job, comedian and Celebrity Traitors winner Carr said he regrets not knowing his worth and letting people demean him.

“There are times that I’d wished I’d said no, I wish I’d been a bit bolder and a bit stronger.”

Carr, who divorced husband Paul Drayton in 2022 after a four-year marriage, added that he’d like to find love again and to trust people, stating: “Yeah, it’d be nice, wouldn’t it? I don’t really trust anyone, really, that’s the trouble. I think that is my main thing.

“It’s just getting out there and trusting, isn’t it?”

Carr married Drayton after 10 years together, and singer Adele officiated their ceremony, which was held at her mansion in Los Angeles.

The “Rolling in the Deep” star broke the news on Instagram, writing: “I married two of my best friends in January. You know me, any excuse to dress up.”

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Carr reflected on the ceremony on The One Show shortly after, calling Adele “the loveliest person going”.

“We’ve known her for ages and when we told her we were getting married, she said: ‘Can I please plan the whole day for you?’” the comedian said. Carr befriended Adele after meeting at the Brit Awards in 2008.