News about Les Dennis

Sir Alan Ayckbourn is surely the Sir Geoffrey Boycott of British Theatre. OK, so AA isn't Yorkshire born or bred, but he has made the seaside town of Scarborough synonymous with his work over the past 65 years. Not only that, Ayckbourn's stats have come to resemble Boycott's cricket scores. At 85, he has just effortlessly clipped his 90th play, Show & Tell, for four. He surely merits his own Wisden Almanack, to record his work. This latest is about Jack Bothridge, truculent former owner of a department store founded by his grand­father. Since becoming a widower, Jack has drifted into hallucinogenic dementia in which he imagines his long-departed wife is still at his side. In honour of her birthday, he's arranged for a French farce to be performed at their manor house. As you do. 'She was always dragging me to the theatre,' Jack recalls, wistfully... 'I've slept beside her through the best of it.' The deceptively simple plot hinges on whether the on-off show will indeed go on, or off. But after Jack is visited by an actor who he mistakes for a meter-reader, the action craftily mixes his delusions with the theatrical illusions of the shoestring theatre company.

Strictly fans are convinced they know the identity of blind comedian Chris McCausland's celebrity partner. Chris, 47, also an actor, was the first name revealed to be taking part in the 22nd series of Strictly, which begins on Saturday. He is the first blind contestant to ever take part in the BBC dance competition, though there has previously been a deaf contestant. 

ITV viewers have furiously slammed the broadcaster's newest gameshow Password as 'the worst thing on TV' after it's pilot aired on Saturday night. Fans have already spotted a huge blunder with the format of the programme, meaning those at homes are unable to play along.

Two beloved ITV quiz shows are finally returning to ITV after a long-running break.

Les Dennis called his stint on Strictly Come Dancing 'the hardest thing ever' as he waded into the bullying row on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain. The 70-year-old comedian and his professional dance partner Nancy Xu became the first pair eliminated from the show in 2023 when they failed to survive the dance off. Les insisted that his 'experience was great,' but admitted that the show is 'the hardest thing ever' and your professional partner 'wants to push you'.

Dancing On Ice skater Vanessa Bauer has praised the ITV show's duty of care to celebrities, following the current Strictly misconduct scandal. The professional skater, 28, revealed that in contrast to the BBC programme, their training sessions are already attended by show staff. Speaking to The Sun she said: 'Their training regime is different to Dancing on Ice. But yeah, training is intense.

PATRICK MARMION: The temptation to go the full Boris must have been strong. In the end, though, the Royal Shakespeare Company have settled instead for something more like a local Tory party chairman, in the shape of precipitously tall - and impressively padded - John Hodgkinson, to play the randy fatso Sir John Falstaff. It's a splendidly suburban production that - with its pre-fab, mock-Tudor buildings and plastic box hedges - re-creates the sleepy serenity of well-heeled middle England. Some scenes are set in a beer garden (advertising 'Pie Sports' inside), while domestic interiors are furnished with John Lewis sofas, lamps and ready-made curtains. The Partnership should probably have a credit in the programme. But it is Hodgkinson's Falstaff who rules - and rues - the day. He is perhaps the best Merry Wives' Falstaff I have ever seen (his incarnation in three of Shakespeare's history plays being an altogether more declassé kettle of fish).

Neil Morrissey has expressed sadness for Amanda Holden's five-week affair, which culminated in her and Family Fortunes actress Les Dennis' union breaking up. The actor, 61, embarked on the case with BGT judge Barry, 52, back in 2000, when Amanda later claimed that it was 'just about sex.' Neil gave listeners life advice on a live stream with Line of Duty's Martin Compston.'Don't p*** into the wind'.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) aren't in the world in a situation where they would not make it worse by eagerly inserting themselves into the story. Following the Hamas assault on Israel, the breathless couple condemned "all acts of terrorism and violence" in a tweet released on Wednesday. So caring while still being terribly poor and terribly neutral, just in case they annoint an individual who might be useful in the future. Or perhaps there is a more noble reason behind their careful impartiality? If true, that would be miraculous.

On Friday, Jody Cundy of Strictly Come Dancing was back in rehearsals after it was revealed that he would not be able to compete on the show this weekend due to a health scare. After awakening at 4 a.m. in the morning with a swollen, infected leg, the Paralympian, 44, had to dash to the hospital early this week. Since being born with a deformed foot, Jody, who had one of his legs amputated when he was three years old, was unable to rehearse for two days.

On Saturday, Strictly Come Dancing's special will be televised in Hollywood for its Movie Week premiere, and the songs and dances have been confirmed. In an attempt to prevent the dreaded dance-off, the remaining 14 couples will take to the floor for an eclectic variety of performances. Les Dennis and Nancy Zumba were the first pair to be banned last week after finishing last in the leaderboard with their Samba at the bottom of the board.

According to Les Dennis and Nancy Xu, they clashed behind the scenes of Strict Come Dancing, which culminated in their poor show on Sunday. Since they failed to make the dance off, the comedian, 69, and his professional dance partner, 32, were the first couple barred from the show. Les and Nancy were unable to connect because the funnyman's energy levels weren't equal to Nancy's.

Amanda Holden's 'brutal' confession about why she ended her friendship with ex-husband Les Dennis has resurfaced. Amanda, 22, 22, then 21 years old at the time, fell in love with the Family Fortunes host, then 40, when they were both acting in a production of The Sound Of Music. Amanda married two years later in 1995, but circumstances came to a close when it was revealed that she and her Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey had an affair in 2000 - something she later claimed was about sex.'

With yet another brand new series, ITV has announced that an iconic family gameshow will be back to our screens. Since being taken from televisions in 2002, Family Fortunes will return for its fourth series on ITV1 and ITVX. With Gino D'Acampo hosting, the much-loved show will now be a key fixture in ITV's weekend prime time schedule.

For the first time in this series, voting lines were opened on Strictly Come Dancing with two couples competing for the feared dance offence.

Les Dennis' rare confession about his ex wife Amanda Holden has been revealed - as the first celebrity to be booted of Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night. After their difficult start, the TV star, 69, made a surprising confession about his former passion. When Amanda was 22 years old and starting her own stage career in 1993, they rewind 30 years.

Nancy Xu was seen leaving the Strictly Come Dancing studio after causing fear during Saturday's live broadcast after she appeared to suffer a horrific injury. After her first appearance with partner Les Dennis, 69, the professional dancer was photographed in the back of a car as she headed home to take it easy. Nancy had converted to casual attire, but she was also sporting her spruced up make-up when she was seen typing away on her notebook.

The first couple to be disqualified will be deemed 'worked out,' according to Strictly Come Dancing's viewers. On Saturday night, the BBC1 dance competition began as all 15 celebrities took to the floor for their first routines. No one will be home this week, with scores being carried over to next weekend unless someone says goodbye to the tournament on Sunday night.

After his fun-filled Cha Cha Cha Cha Cha Cha on Saturday night's opening show, Strictly followers dubbed Krishnan Guru-Murthy a 'legend.' Boom Shack A Lack by Apache Indian had a 53-point lead over the Channel 4 News anchor, who had 22 points out of 40 with partner Lauren Oakley. Many viewers were raving over the 'groovy' appearance and predicting that his lovable character would help him win the competition.

During Saturday's live show, Strictly sensation Nancy Xu raised questions from fans after she appeared to suffer a serious injury. When the pair was being interviewed by Claudia Winkleman after their debut appearance, the professional dancer, 32, was partnered with Les Dennis, 69, and was seen removing blood from her ears. As she was handed a tissue, the choreographer was caught muffling while having a chat with the host.

Amanda Abbington of Strictly came away reports of a rivalry with pro partner Giovanni Pernice as they took the dance floor for the show's first live episode on Saturday. In the pre-recorded VT, the actress, 49, said the dancer was like 'a little brother' who has a lot of love for him, before going on to admit she's not picked up 'as quickly as she wanted to' during rehearsals. All 15 couples appeared on the leaderboard for the first time with Nigel Harmon and Katya Jones, 32 points, and Les Dennis and his partner Nancy Xu were dissatisfied with a disappointing 16.

According to overnight ratings, the first live show of the new series of Strictly Come Dancing saw it's ratings decrease again, with an average 6.1 million viewers tuning in on Saturday. This was the first year in a row for an average of 6.8 million viewers after the launch in 2022 attracted a whopping 7.9 million viewers in 2021. The first competition night of the glitzy show on Saturday, when 15 celebrities were paired with their pro-partners, attracted a record of 6.7 million viewers.

Since the glitzy BBC competition roared back to screens on Saturday, viewers have already predicted who would win the latest series. The celebrities met with their partners for the first time in a disco themed group routine.

Les Dennis has admitted that he was excited to land Strictly Come Dancing because he would cross it off his bucket list as he approaches to reach his 70th birthday.