Actor Dennis Waterman has sadly passed away aged 74, survived by his loving wife Pam.
Known for his roles in television shows such as Minder, The Sweeney and New Tricks, the much-loved star died at his home in Spain.
A statement released by his family said: “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis passed away very peacefully at his home in Spain.”
Dennis died on Sunday afternoon with his wife Pam by his side, his family explained.
The statement added: “The family kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.”
Survived by his wife, Dennis’ love life had its ups and downs – as well as a total of four marriages and a string of passionate affairs.
The actor found true love after all, with blonde beauty Pam, after being friends for some time.
The couple were pals for 15 years before they finally got wed in November 2011, but before finding love with Pam, Dennis had three other marriages.
Marriages before Pam
(Image: Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
Dennis’ first wife was Penny Dixon, who he married in 1967 before things ended in 1976.
One year on in 1977 he married Patricia Maynard and the pair welcomed two daughters, one of whom is Hannah Waterman.
Hannah has followed in her dad’s footsteps and went on to act. She even played the role of Laura Beale in EastEnders, and later appeared in New Tricks alongside her dad as his character’s daughter.
Dennis and Patricia were married for 10 years before calling things off.
The same year he divorced Patricia, Dennis married actress Rula Lenska and the marriage lasted 11 years until 1998.
Coronation Street actress Rula, who plays Claudia in the soap, and Dennis then split.
Because of his violent behaviour towards Rula, which he later admitted to during a TV interview with Piers Morgan, the pair ended up divorcing.
The actor caused an uproar over some controversial comments he made about their relationship 10 years ago.
Speaking to Piers Morgan while filming for Life Stories in 2012, he spoke about hitting her.
“It’s not difficult for a woman to make a man hit her,” he said.
“She certainly wasn’t a beaten wife, she was hit and that’s different.”
Passionate affairs with high-profiled women
(Image: Wall to Wall)
As well as his three marriages, Dennis also had a slew of passionate affairs.
“I was getting birds all over the place,” he said in 2005.
“But as a result I f***ed up two marriages with two wonderful women, either of whom I could have been with forever if I hadn’t been such an idiot who thought that drinking and women was an acceptable hobby.
“I looked at the role models at that time – Richard Burton and Richard Harris, for example, two brilliant actors – and thought ‘Well, what do they do? They drink loads and sh*g as many women as possible’. And I thought, ‘I’ll have a go at that too then’.”
(Image: Wall to Wall)
Amanda Redman was one of the high-profiled women Dennis had an affair with. Amanda played his boss Supt Sandra Pullman in New Tricks.
They first met in 1982 when they were playing lovers in the West End production Windy City.
At the time Dennis’s second marriage to Patricia was on thin ice and he was also having an affair with actress Rula Lenska.
“Putting it mildly, it was the wrong time for me and Amanda to be together and when we split we both realised the situation was impossible,” he spoke of the affair and his love life in 2005 to Sunday People.
Falling for Pam
In November 2011, years after the pair first met, Dennis and Pam got hitched.
They first became friends in 1996, but it ended up taking 15 years until the pair made things official and said “I do”.
Pam had a health scare when she was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006.
Speaking back then after her surgery, Pam spoke about the couple’s relationship, saying: “Dennis has never made me feel that it has made the slightest difference to him. All I ever see in his eyes is total love.”
Dennis then added: “She’s the same person. She isn’t any less attractive to me. I’m not aware of any different feelings. I admire her so much for how she has coped.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
