NEWS
Insiders say Amanda Holden is feeling uneasy about her past coming back to haunt her
It’s been over 20 years since her shock affair with Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey was exposed – leading to the breakdown of her eight-year marriage to much-loved TV host, Les Dennis, and the downfall of her career at the time.
And following the announcement that her ex-husband, 69, is set to join the upcoming series of Strictly, insiders say Amanda Holden is panicking about her painful past being dragged up again.
A source says, “Amanda was understandably shaken when she heard the news, immediately going into a tailspin about what Les could say in all the press interviews and the public being reminded of her infidelity and the heartache and pain that the scandal caused.
RUINED REPUTATION
“She’s worked so hard over the years to redeem herself and repair her reputation and image – not to mention her career, which was left in tatters – so the thought of that all being bulldozed again by Les’s appearance on Strictly, is understandably very worrying and it’s causing her to panic.”
In the early noughties, Amanda’s acting career took an epic nosedive following the cheating scandal and her subsequent divorce from the Family Fortunes presenter, which she later admitted “ruined my reputation”.
The 52-year-old BGT host – who is now happily loved-up with husband Chris Hughes, with whom she shares daughters, Lexi, 17 and Hollie, 11 – has since thanked Simon Cowell, 63, for giving her a “second chance” when he offered her a judging spot on the hit talent show in 2006 – a move that relaunched her career and helped repair her damaged reputation.
Les and Amanda married in 1995, when she was 22 and he was 40, after falling in love when they both starred in the stage production of The Sound Of Music. Following a brief split in 2000 after Amanda and Neil’s affair was exposed, they reunited, but called it quits two years later.
And in June this year, Les spoke out about his marriage with Amanda, revealing that despite being “damaged” for a long time, he has no hard feelings towards his ex.
Opening up about Amanda in a rare interview, he said, “We’re not in touch but I’m happy that she’s happy,” he said, adding, “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.”
And pals say while Amanda hopes enough time has passed that Les won’t use his appearance to seek revenge, she’s panicking that his popularity on the show, could make the public turn on her again.
FIRING LINE
The source says, “While Amanda doesn’t think Les would vi
