Extras helped put 'sad Les' to rest

From tragedy to triumph, Les Dennis has experienced it all. He talks to

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See also: Photos: The life and times of Les Dennis

He went from Les Dennis to Les Miserables with a painful and very public marriage break-up followed by an ill-advised appearance on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother.

The game show host looked to be all but finished, both professionally and in his personal life.

But five years on, Les Dennis has turned his life around, all thanks to a part in Ricky Gervais's Extras.

His brutally self-deprecating caricature of himself as a washed-up celebrity, in which he bared his backside as well as his soul, is generally considered to be the highlight of the two series.

He has since found love with new partner Claire, recently becoming a father second time around at 54, written his autobiography and is touring the country in the hit show Eurobeat with former Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay, prior to a West End run.

Over lunch at Wolverhampton Art Gallery's cafe, Les talked about his comeback, the funny side of late fatherhood, being a victim and the moment he realised how much the public loved him.

The only topic he won't talk about is his marriage to Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden. This is is puzzling given that Eurobeat contains a reference to his ex, to which Les's character cheekily responds "Amanda who?"

He claims the line about Holden, who cheated on him with Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey, was already in the script when he took over the part.

He is a fan of Britain's Got Talent, he says, and thinks his former wife does a good job on it but the pair no longer talk.

"I've got a new life, she's got a new life, we wish each other well and that's about all there is to say about it," he says, drawing a line under the subject.

Long before his troubles, Les Dennis's life was touched by tragedy.

Within 10 years both his parents died, followed in 1986 by the sudden death of his comedy partner Dustin Gee from a heart attack, just as their partnership was beginning to flourish after appearances on Russ Abbot's Madhouse.

He says the last time he was in Wolverhampton was with Gee at the Grand in 1983 when they appeared in panto Cinderella.

"Being here has brought back a lot of memories," he says.

He responded to all three deaths by going straight back on stage, a decision which he says unhinged him slightly, and which he regrets. His book is called Must the Show Go On? and he concludes that the answer is no.

"I love the business but now, when it infringes on things in my personal life, I'm out of here. I shouldn't have performed that night when Dustin died, or the day after my dad died."

He went on to do 16 years fronting Family Fortunes, a job he loved, not least because it was screened over 26 weeks but took only three to make.

It freed him up to take on other projects, like returning to his career roots in straight acting. He started touring in rep, doing a play a year before a TV appearance in the Channel 4 soap Brookside, set in his native Liverpool.

But he had become, he says, "telly wallpaper" and was looking for something to reboot his flagging career. Then came Celebrity Big Brother and his infamous chats with the chickens.

His relationship with Holden had started to unravel but the decision to appear on the show was not, as some people suggested, an escape from what was happening.

"Not at all, it was a total career choice," he says. "We didn't get paid in those days - people wouldn't do it now without a big fee - and yes, we did it for charity but it was also to kickstart my career which was flatlining a bit.

"I'd given no thought to what I was going to talk about in there. You keep saying to yourself 'Be yourself, be yourself' but part of me is being a performer, so you're thinking - Am I being funny enough?"

Buoyed up by coming second to Take That singer Mark Owen, his agent had to take him to one side before doing press interviews on coming out of the house to break the news that a lot had been written about him and it hadn't been good.

In the depths of depression he met up with his mate Andy Davies - Jonathan Ross's sidekick on his Radio 2 Saturday morning show - who dragged him out to the pub.

"When we walked in I thought it was someone's birthday because cheering started at the back of the room which was full of these young, trendy people and I suddenly realised it was for me.

"I did Celebrity Big Brother hoping that it would be a turning point.

"It wasn't but if I hadn't done it I wouldn't have got Extras, and it was that that sparked the resurgence.

"Ricky gave me a chance to put the sad, lonely side of Les Dennis to rest."

Gervais told him he would be playing a "twisted, demented version of Les Dennis", and the result, most people agree, was the funniest episode of the entire Extras catalogue.

"Ricky says they were confused about what was being written about me. They saw that I probably didn't get the best deal from the press and wanted to give me a chance to show that I could be a good sport about it."

He and life coach Claire met three years ago at a charity ball. Since their daughter Eleanor was born - 29 years after son Phil from his first marriage - Les has had to get his head round modern prams, which come with thick instruction manuals.

"We had to take the buggy back because the brake wasn't working and were given a different one, and I'm like 'Oh no, I've got to start again'.

But that kind of problem he can deal with. Les Dennis the victim is no longer. "I kind of got off on being the victim," he admits. "People liked me because they felt sorry for me but I think they lost patience with that.

"Now I'm very much in control of my life, I've got a sense of family, with a beautiful partner, a lovely daughter and Phil as well.

"You can't wipe the smile off my face."