Sir Lenny Henry has opened up about the pivotal moment early in his career when his then-girlfriend Dawn French challenged him with one simple, honest question.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a young Lenny Henry performed self-deprecating jokes about his race, material he now acknowledges people would rightly regard as racist today. Influenced by older comedians such as Charlie Williams and Jim Davidson, the 23-year-old believed this was the style expected of him as a Black performer.
That all changed when he met the new wave of alternative comedians in 1980, including Alexei Sayle and Dawn French.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Sir Lenny recalled: “I did jokes against myself that people would deem racist now. I’d seen Charlie Williams or Josh White or Jim Davidson doing these jokes and I thought that was the humour I had to do because I was black. I was 23 and they were 40 years old. What was going on there?
“When I met Lexi [Alexei Sayle] and Dawn and the others, they all said, ‘What are you doing that for?’ Well, quite.”
The question proved to be a turning point for Henry. He and Dawn French went on to marry in 1984 and became one of Britain’s best-loved showbiz couples. They adopted their daughter Billie in 1991 after a long struggle with infertility and were married for 25 years before announcing their amicable separation in October 2009 (made public in April 2010).
Their spokesman said at the time: “Lenny Henry and Dawn French are sad to announce they have decided to separate after 25 years of marriage… The separation is entirely amicable and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship.”
Since their split, both have found happiness again. Dawn married charity executive Mark Bignell in 2013, while Sir Lenny has been in a relationship with casting director Lisa Makin since 2012.
Now 67, Sir Lenny is currently on his first stand-up tour in more than 15 years. He was knighted in 2015 for services to charity and drama and remains best known as a co-founder of Comic Relief, which has raised over £1.6 billion since 1985.
