Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner played two people who were in love on Outnumbered, but now, they are no longer pretending.
Their BBC sitcom characters Sue and Pete Brockman are the slightly stressed parents of Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), Ben (Daniel Roche) and Karen (Romona Marquez). The semi-improvisational series showcased their way of managing all their unique, differing personalities.
Tonight, the beloved show will follow in the footsteps of Gavin and Stacey on Christmas day, and return for a one-off special.
It originally ran for five series between 2007 and 2014, before coming back for a Christmas special in 2016. After eight years away, Bafta-nominated Outnumbered is once again getting the crew back together.
With their real-life romance, the job may be a little easier, but when exactly did they begin to fall for each other? Let’s take a look back at their relationship…
When did Hugh Dennis and Clare Skinner start dating?
When the pair first embarked on the Outnumbered journey, Claire and Hugh were both in relationships with other people (more on that later). However, by the time the first Christmas special aired, they were both single.
Talking about the timeline of their romance, Hugh said in 2018: ‘That happened I suppose about a year and a half ago. We did an Outnumbered Christmas special about three years ago and then met up again about a year and a half ago.’
The chain of events left Hugh feeling ‘very, very happy’, and he called the relationship ‘lovely’.
Hugh and Claire were able to get to know each other away from the spotlight.’Nobody really noticed when Hugh Dennis and I first got into a relationship,’ Claire told The Times in 2019.
‘The news didn’t come out until a year later, which was great. People said to us that someone will notice soon but I kept telling them, “We’re both over 50. Why would anyone be interested in that?”
‘We’ve got families we wanted to protect, but everybody’s pretty cool and happy with it.’
They are now living together, reportedly in a London penthouse worth over £1 million.
Has Hugh Dennis been married before and who was his wife?
Hugh, 62, wed his second wife Catherine Abbot-Anderson in 1996, and they welcomed Freddie and Meg. Their marriage ended in 2015.
When news of Claire and Hugh’s romance broke, Meg told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘I am aware of what has happened. My mother does not want to talk about it. Neither do I.’
The QI and Have I Got News For You regular was previously married to Miranda Carroll from 1987 to 1993. Speaking about the relationship to Daily Mail, she said: ‘It may come as a shock to his fans but he was boring. People see him being funny on television, and doing hilarious improvisations, but when we were married, he had no spontaneity, no sense of fun. Ultimately, that killed our marriage.’
Has Claire Skinner been married before?
Claire, 59, was married to director Charles Palmer, and the couple had two sons together – Henry and William. However, after 15 years of marriage they split in 2016.
After finding love again with Hugh, Claire, who’s also had roles in Bridget Jones’ Diary and Sense and Sensibility, called it a ‘lovely little life surprise.’
What can viewers expect from Outnumbered Christmas special?
Set at Christmas, this very special episode will follow the family as they grapple with the challenges of parenting adult children, all of whom have their own lives and problems to deal with.
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Written and directed by creators Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, it sees Sue and Pete try to gather their children (and grandchild) together for a traditional family Christmas. But fate, of course, has other ideas.
On top of the joy, there is some sadness with Pete being diagnosed with treatable prostate cancer. Andy and Guy explained their decision to include the storyline – they wanted to give an ‘honest and funny’ depiction of telling loved ones about a cancer diagnosis in the hope that viewers in the same position feel ‘reassured and comforted.’
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Outnumbered will air at 9.40pm on BBC One
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