Dawn French's rarely-seen husband, Lenny Henry confession and parenting struggle

As Dawn French returns to Marks & Spencer's Christmas advert sharing the screen as also Fairy, the Mirror takes a look at her family life following her shock split from Lenny Henry

Dawn French was once one-half of the nation's favourite comedic couple, but has since moved on with a happy marriage.

The star is back on screens this Christmas as she returned once again to Marks & Spencer's Christmas advert as the face of the Fairy - and even starred alongside herself. Dawn also plays the frazzled neighbour who is saved by the Fairy, who whips up ham and cheese scones, pork pies, and other delights including a raspberry & pistachio roulade to feed her guests.

The Vicar of Dibley actress, 67, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be fluttering back as Fairy this Christmas, and oh my wings, do we have a plot twist for you! Let’s just say, Fairy meeting Dawn herself was quite THE moment! Who knew we'd ever share the same screen? Magic really does happen!"

Away from the cameras, Dawn has an incredible story of her own with adopting her daughter Billie. For 25 years, Dawn and Lenny Henry were one of the most famous couples in comedy, however behind closed doors, they struggled to start a biological family.

In 1991, Lenny and Dawn welcomed daughter Billie, who they adopted at two weeks old. Opening up about becoming a mother through adoption during a 2015 interview with The Telegraph, Dawn remarked: "I had grief for a while.

"I did have miscarriages, so I've had grief about that as well. But the minute Billie arrived that was it for me. She fills everything I needed to be as a mother." In an interview with HELLO! in October 2021, the actress spoke about their unbreakable bond.

"My biggest test and my biggest joy," she said of her child. "But it is unbreakable. We have the same amount of mother/daughter friction that any mum and daughter have, it's no more or less. But I've learnt a lot about her. And she's learnt a lot about me."

Although they no longer live together as Billie is now 32, they live close by to one another. Dawn jokingly told the Telegraph in 2015: "We could no longer live together - there would be murder. But we have to live nearby."

Fans of Dawn and Lenny were left surprised and saddened when they announced their "entirely amicable" divorce in 2010, stating their intention to "maintain their close friendship". Dawn and Lenny first locked eyes in 1980, back when they were both members of the alternative comedy show Comic Strip, and for Lenny, 66, it was a "meeting of minds".

But sadly cracks started to show and their partnership ultimately ended on reported grounds of his 'unreasonable behaviour'. It came after rumours swirled that Lenny had cheated on Dawn back in 1999 - an allegation he has denied. Opening up about why exactly they did part ways, speaking candidly with the Express in 2016, Lenny confessed: "There's generally a situation where one partner wants the marriage to finish more than the other.

"I think maybe one of us did, then the other one did, and then the other did over a period of time and then, in the end, we thought, 'Oh, actually maybe we both do'. We knew it wasn't possible to continue."

Dawn's unofficial biographer Alison Boyer told the Mail the comic duo had been 'outgrowing' their marriage for some time before calling it quits, claiming "[Dawn] and Lenny have long been moving in increasingly different directions and have spent little time together in the past two years."

Thankfully, the couple appear to have remained good friends after their separation, and have both since found love elsewhere. In 2013, Dawn married Mark Bignell, a therapist who co-founded drug and alcohol addiction charity Hamoaze House, alongside Dawn's late mother, Felicity 'Roma' French. The couple live in a beautiful waterside mansion in Cornwall, not far from daughter Billie. Lenny has reportedly been with his partner, the theatre director Lisa Makin, since 2012.