Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Ryan Paton & Gemma Jones

The Chase Celebrity Special: Richard Madeley's first marriage and ten affairs

Richard Madeley is one of the most well known faces in British television.

Tonight, he will be appearing in an all-star line up for a special celebrity edition of ITV's The Chase. Bradley Walsh will host as celebrity contestants Perry Fenwick, Jenny Eclair, Ore Oduba and Richard Madeley pit their wits against one of the ruthless Chasers in the hope of winning a potential prize pot worth thousands of pounds.

While we see plenty of his life on screen - including his now-wife Judy Finnigan, who he has been happily married to since 1986 - many people don't know too much about his life off screen.

READ MORE: Bradley Walsh 'falls asleep' during episode of The Chase

Many fans of the presenting couple might not know that both of them have been married previously. Richard and Judy first met when they were working for Granada Television in 1982.

There is an eight year age gap between the two and Judy was assigned as Richard's mentor when he started as a journalist at Granada when he was 26 years old. The couple's first exchange has become the stuff of legend as Richard revealed to The Mirror : "I was sitting at my desk when this hand appeared on my shoulder and I looked up at this face and Judy said, 'Hi, I'm your Mummy' and I thought 'Whaaaaat?'"

"At Granada when someone new arrived, someone was appointed as their dad or their mum to show them round – the canteen, the toilets and all that. So Judy was my 'mum'."

Both were involved in marriages at the time - Richard to his first wife Lynda and Judy to journalist David Henshaw. Richard married Lynda in 1978 at the age of 21 and he admitted on an episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories how the whole thing was a mistake.

He said: 'We'd only lived together for a while and then we got married. I pushed for it and then my dad died. In any marriage that would have been a very bad start and it quickly became clear to both of us that we weren't suited at all and things started to fall apart."

Richard confessed to cheating on his wife "about 10 times" before they divorced after five years of marriage. He knew he wanted to marry Judy after they went on their third date - and they eventually tied the knot in 1986.

The pair eventually appeared as an on-screen team as they took over anchoring duties of This Morning in 1988. The couple's career continued to go from strength to strength as they eventually fronted their own self-titled show on Channel 4 from 2001 - 2009.

Throughout his career, Richard has attracted comparisons from fans to Steve Coogan's iconic comedy character, Alan Partridge whenever he commits an on-air gaffe.

An example of an "Accidental Partridge" moment came during an episode of Good Morning Britain when Richard Madeley's co-hosts pointed out that the broadcaster's "phenomenal tan" had become a trending topic on Twitter. The confused presenter explained that he'd recently been to the south of France, but agreed he was looking "a bit orange."

Richard later laughed off the experience and explained what happened during an appearance on ITV' s Loose Men. He said: "It turned out, what I'd done is, at 3am, I'd put my daughter's artificial tan on and it was strong stuff. It was humiliating. But the attention that that got! That's funny and it was very funny."

Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.