Sir Lenny Henry hand-in-hand with rarely seen partner as they head to Wimbledon

Sir Lenny Henry made a rare public appearance with his partner as they held hands while at Wimbledon.

The comedian, 65, looked smart in a beige suit as he attended day eight of the world-famous tennis tournament. He walked in hand-in-hand with partner Lisa Makin, also 65. The couple beamed as they posed for a photo before catching all the tennis action. Lenny looked smart in a floral shirt, a lilac tie and white trainers.

He topped off his dapper look with a mini black back and a pair of tortoise shell glasses. Lisa, who is a theatre mogul, looked gorgeous in a chic cream blazer and a pair of satin trousers with matching vest. She complimented her outfit with layered gold necklaces and one of them had a sweet touch to her own name and partner Lenny as it feature the letter ‘L’.

Lisa added a pair of nude wedge heels and a guilted green clutch along with oval sunglasses. The couple have been linked together since 2012. Lenny was previously married to fellow comedian Dawn French, 66, from 1984 to 2010, separating after 25 years together. They share their daughter Billie, 33, who they adopted.

After their split, a statement issued on behalf of the couple read: “The separation is entirely amicable and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship. Their priority is to commit to the future joint parenting of their daughter.” Dawn is now married to Mark Bignell, 59, a therapist, having tied the knot in 2013 at the Scarlet Hotel, in Mawgan Porth, near Newquay.

The wedding was attended by Sir Henry and their daughter. Lenny and Dawn have remained good friends since their split as Dawn told the Mirror: “This had been a very happy marriage for a very long time and you don’t stop looking after each other or caring for each other, whatever has happened.”

Earlier this year, Lenny stepped down as host of Comic Relief after co-founding the charity back in 1985 alongside Love Actually director Richard Curtis. Speaking about his reasoning, Lenny admitted he missed doing the show with Vicar of Dibley star, Dawn. Lenny had co-hosted with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Billy Connolly and the late Victoria Wood.

He said: “We were like a little gang. But for a few years I’ve felt, ‘Where’s the new gang?’ [Comic Relief] is a baton to be handed on to a new group of people who are going to take on Comic Relief.” While he is stepping away from the live show, Lenny will continue to work for the charity behind the scenes.

He said Doctor Who star David Tennant, who hosted the show in 2019, could take over from him. Speaking to Radio Times, Lenny explained: “I thought, well, actually, [David was] brilliant. And I think there’s other people, newer people, who are coming up like Romesh Ranganathan, Alesha Dixon, AJ Odudu. There are new people coming up now who can absolutely take the reins.”

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