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Sir Lenny Henry has disclosed that missing his former Comic Relief co-hosts, including his ex-wife Dawn French, was one of the factors influencing his decision to step down from presenting the iconic telethon after 39 years.
The 65-year-old actor is relinquishing hosting duties after this year's annual event, which he co-founded with Love Actually director Richard Curtis in 1985.
Explaining his departure ahead of his final Comic Relief this month, the TV star revealed that he missed fronting the charity event with French, with whom he was married from 1984 to 2010.
He also recalled the camaraderie of the ‘old’ gang of comedians who co-hosted the show in the 1980s, which included French and Saunders, Billy Connolly, and the late Victoria Wood.
He reminisched: "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."
Henry pictured in 2005 with Front row, from left to right; Matt Lucas, Davina McCall and Konnie Huq, back row, from left to right; Nick Knowles, Elle MacPherson, Patrick Kielty, Kevin Whately, Chris Evans, June Sarpong and Dawn FrenchPAThe funnyman expressed his belief that Comic Relief is a baton to be passed on to a new generation of hosts and suggested potential replacements, praising David Tennant for his previous hosting stint in 2019
Speaking to Radio Times, he said: "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."
Despite stepping away from the spotlight for future Comic Reliefs, Lenny assured that he would continue to support the charity behind the scenes as its Life President.