Les Dennis Joins Dustin Gee at the North Pier

In 1982, Les Dennis joined Russ Abbot’s Madhouse and The Russ Abbot Show before forming a comedy double act with fellow impressionist Dustin Gee. The duo launched their own television series, The Laughter Show, which first aired on 7 April 1984. For its third series, it was retitled Les & Dustin’s Laughter Show.

On 24 May 1985, during the opening night of a summer season at Blackpool’s North Pier, Gee fell ill on stage but continued performing. After the show, he was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a minor heart attack and dilated cardiomyopathy. Despite medical advice to rest for six months, Gee returned to the stage on 24 June—his birthday—to complete the season, which ran until the end of September. Later that year, he and Dennis recorded the third series of The Laughter Show.

The first episode of the new series aired on 28 December 1985. However, Gee’s sudden death in January 1986 led the BBC to postpone the second episode for two weeks. While the network initially considered cancelling the series, it was resumed at the request of Gee’s family on 18 January 1986. Dennis continued The Laughter Show as a solo act and went on to become the third host of Family Fortunes, a role he held for 15 years from 1987 to 2002. During a recording of Family Fortunes in 1997, he was the subject of a surprise tribute on the BBC’s This Is Your Life.

In 2024, Les Dennis starred in Ghost the Musical at Blackpool Winter Gardens’ Opera House, with performances running from Tuesday, 3 December to Saturday, 7 December, marking the final stop of the tour. More details about the production can be found on the Winter Gardens website.