Family Fortunes

Background:

One of British most well-known stage and television performers, Les Dennis, born Leslie Dennis Heseltine, first gained notice as a part of the wacky “Madhouse” team and appeared in every of the LWT series “Russ Abbot's Madhouse” (1982-1984) and all the specials that followed. He went on to earn success as one-second of a successful comedy duo with fellow Madhouse regular Dustin Gee (died in 1986), with whom he headlined his first TV show, “Les and Dustin's Laughter Show” (1984-1985), and eventually emerged on his own with “The Les Dennis Laughter Show” (BBC, 1987-1991). Dennis further boosted his fame as the host of the hit TV game show “Family Fortunes,” which ran from 1987 to 2002. As an actor, Dennis has acted in such films as his debut, “Intimate Relations” (1996), “Large” (2001) and “Fat Slags” (2004) and has been cast as a regular player in the TV series “Brookside” (2001) and “Crossroads” (2003). Dennis' more recent stage credits include “Marlon Brando's Corset” (2006), where he was critically applauded for portraying author Nick Chase, “Certified Male” (2007), “The Servant of Two Masters” and “Cinderella.”

Dennis, whose favorite foods are rusks and peas, has been married twice. He and first wife Lynne Heseltine (divorced in 1990) have a child together and was married to actress Amanda Holden from 1995 to 2003.

The multi-faceted entertainers published an autobiography in 2008.

Liverpool Native

Childhood and Family:

Les Dennis was born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on October 12, 1954, in Liverpool, England. He divorced from first wife Lynne Heseltine in 1990 after having one child. On June 4, 1995, he was married to actress Amanda Holden (born on February 16, 1971). Five years later, in May 2000, the couple became estranged after Les discovered his wife having an affair with actor Neil Morrissey, a fact he knew from a newspaper. They reconciled shortly thereafter, but finally divorced in November 2003.

Certified Male

Career:

A noted stage and TV entertainer, Liverpool-born Les Dennis made a strong impression on the stage with performances in such productions as “Amos Hart,” “Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl,” “Mr Wonderful,” “Skylight,” “Misery,” “Cherished Disappointments In Love”and “Murderer.” He also toured in the production of “Just Between Ourselves” and joined Christopher Cazenove and John Duttine in a national tour of “Art.”

First stepping in front of the TV cameras in 1974 as a winning competitor in “New Faces,” which was hosted by Derek Hobson, Dennis rose to prominence as a yes-man to Russ Abbot in the sketch comedy show “Madhouse,” where he played various characters from 1982 to 1984. Through the show, he met fellow impressionist Dustin Gee and they then formed a comedy duo. After leaving “Madhouse,” the two men starred in their own show called “Les and Dustin's Laughter Show,” which was aired on BBC from 1984 to 1985, headlined the LWT series “Go For It” and guested in such shows as “Live From Her Majesty's” and “the Royal Variety Show.” However, they was forced to end the fruitful partnership in 1986 following the sudden death of Gee (due to heart attack).

After the tragedy, Dennis went on to perform on his own in “Les Dennis' Laughter Show,” which ran from 1988 to 1991, and with Russ Abbot in “The Russ Abbot Show” from 1988 to 1991 and the short-lived “The Russ Abbot Show” in 1995. He also started his famous hosting gig on Central Television's game-show, “Family Fortunes,” in 1987, which went on to become one of the most successful TV game shows in the United Kingdom and received a 2000 National TV nomination for Most Popular Quiz. Dennis stayed with the show until it departed the airwaves in 2002.

Dennis made his debut as a film actor in 1996 with a supporting role as Maurice Guppy in the comedy/drama “Intimate Relations,” directed and penned by Philip Goodhew and starring Julie Walters. He next provided his voice for the animated TV film “Wyrd Sisters” (1997), based on the Terry Pratchett novel, starred with wife Amanda Holden in the made-for-TV “Happy Birthday Shakespeare” (2000) and guested as Charles Lee on an episode of “Doctors” (2000) before making his second big screen outing in Justin Edgar's “Large” (2001), in which he appeared as Steve. Also in 2001, he joined the cast of the British soap “Brookside” in the regular role of Jeff Evans.

A year after the demise of “Family Fortunes,” in 2003, Dennis portrayed Dr. Harry Richmond on last season of the TV series “Crossroads,” a modern adaptation of the popular British soap opera of the same name which originally ran from 1964 to 1988. The following year, he supported David Jason, Hywel Bennett and Roy Hudd in the TV film “The Second Quest” and was cast as MC in the comedy film “Fat Slags,” starring Fiona Allen. His more recent TV acting gig was guest starring in such shows as “New Street Law” (2006, as Kenny Logan), “The Bill” (2006, as Tom Walker) and “Holby City” (2007, as Chris Jaques).

Dennis made his return to the game-show realm in 2006 when he presented the new quiz “In the Grid” for Five TV. The same year, the stage trained also found himself playing scriptwriter Nick Chase in a new comedy play called “Marlon Brando's Corset,” which toured the UK from July 2006, and won critical acclaim for his performance. He followed it up by starring in “Certified Male,” a successful play debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2007, joining a touring production of “The Servant of Two Masters,” for director Michael Bogdanov, and costarring with Hollywood veteran Mickey Rooney in the pantomime “Cinderella” at the Sunderland Empire.

In 2008, Dennis made a self-appearance in the game-show “Celebrity Ding Dong,” hosted by Alan Carr.

Awards:
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