WHEN she first laid eyes on comedian Les Dennis 40 years ago, Sherrie Hewson thought she’d found her future husband.
It didn’t matter that they were both already married to other people, the Benidorm star, 71, was convinced that one day they would end up together.
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But it wasn’t meant to be; they’ve never been single at the same time, and Les, 68, is now happily married to Claire Nicholson – his third wife after splitting from Lynne Webster and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.
Speaking to The Sun, Sherrie said: “When I first met Les we were very young and I don’t know why but I thought, ‘I’ll marry him in the end’.
“But obviously that hasn’t happened. We’ve both been married to other people the entire time.”
Les and Sherrie first worked together on Russ Abbot’s Madhouse series back in 1980, and have stayed close mates ever since.
They recently reunited on a UK tour of Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends The Musical, where they star alongside Lee Mead and Jessica Ellis.
Sherrie said it’s nice to be back treading the boards with her old pal, adding: “Although when we work together we do moan like an old married couple.”
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Ditching dating apps
Nottinghamshire-born Sherrie has been single since her divorce from Ken Boyd in 2011 after he admitted to cheating on her.
She has dipped her foot in the online dating pool but now believes she’s destined to remain single and won’t be returning to apps after being bombarded with filth.
Sherrie lamented: “I really don’t understand that kind of explicit enjoyment that people get out of knowing what shock you’d have on your face because it’s an explicit picture of a penis.
“When I got one I was like, ‘Oh my god, I haven’t seen one of those in 15 years’.
“And I didn’t want to see one of them again, thank you very much. It was just horrible.”
The star, who has done stints on Coronation Street, Crossroads and Emmerdale as well as Loose Women and Celebrity Big Brother, swears off having another romance before she dies.
She claims it is because a lot of blokes who chat to her on dating apps expect her to be the same as her Benidorm character Joyce Temple Savage, whom she played between 2012 to 2019.
When I got [a penis pic] I was like, ‘Oh my god, I haven’t seen one of those in 15 years’. And I didn’t want to see one of them again, thank you very much
Sherrie Hewson
But Sherrie insists she is nothing like her “b***h” alter-ego.
“She was a right madam. She was very curt with everyone. Joyce thought she was absolutely sensational and that everyone else was as common as muck,” she said.
“It was wonderful to play. But it’s not who I am.”
It comes just a year after she exclusively told The Sun she’d be up for dating again provided it was a “young Robert Redford or a Clint Eastwood”.
Family first
Now, her life is about her family rather than chasing a new lover.
Sherrie spends most of her time when not working seeing her daughter Keeley and her three grandchildren Oliver, 15, Molly, 11, and Rosie, two.
But for the first time since she welcomed her only child, Sherrie was forced to spend Christmas alone due to fears around Covid.
With the rising number of cases and infectious Omicron variant, the actress and her family took the decision to isolate from each other to ensure no one got sick.
But it is a sacrifice Sherrie was willing to make to prevent the country from going into yet another lockdown.
She fears more restrictions would have a terrifying impact on people because of how lonely it can be.
Sherrie said: “We’ve done it before and if it happens again it will be so much harder because we know what to expect.
“My family are just 10 minutes away but if I can’t see them again, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do.”
During last year’s lockdown Sherrie admits she ate and drank too much because there was little else for her to do.
Lost loved ones
The loss of her brother Brett Hutchinson, who died in April aged 71 from a brain tumour, also saw her turn to booze in a bid to numb her consuming grief.
Almost a year on, things are brighter for Sherrie and she can feel her brother watching over her.
She said: “Like my dad, he’s always with me, but I can’t think about either of them too much or I’ll just cry.”
Sherrie plays the role of Slimming Club boss Julia Fleshman in Fat Friends, whom she says is like a “pantomime villain”.
The comedy has been adapted from the sitcom, which ran from 2000 to 2005 and originally starred Ruth Jones, James Corden, Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman, who all went on to appear in Gavin & Stacey.
She said: “There is nobody to put me down in the play. Julia is an absolute b***h.
“She’s not nice at all and it’s just fabulous to play.”
Sherrie Hewson stars in the UK and Ireland tour of Fat Friends The Musical, from 14th January – 23rd July 2022 – fatfriendsmusical.com.
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