BBC Strictly Come Dancing’s Nigel Harman’s very private marriage to Hollywood A-lister wife

Best known for playing “bad boy” EastEnders character Dennis Rickman, Nigel Harman is now trying his hand at dancing in a bid to win the coveted Glitterball trophy with his professional partner Katya Jones.

While Nigel will be busy with famously intense Strictly Come Dancing training, behind the scenes his family will be supporting him from home. But what many people will not realise however is that Nigel was an equally famous wife – who made her name in Hollywood… The Olivier award winning actor, 50, married actress Lucy Leimann in 2011 – who starred in films including The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. The pair first met reportedly on the set of BBC series Hotel Babylon, which they both starred in. They then married in 2011 and in 2012, Lucy gave birth to their daughter – but have always avoided sharing details of their life on social media.

Lucy was originally from Middlesex before she was spotted by a voice scout who urged her to become a voice artist and headed to the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. The 49-year-old then made her stage debut in the London production of Carl Djerassi’s play Phallacy in 2005.

But she is best known for playing the part of Lucy in the third part of the Jason Bourne film series, The Bourne Ultimatum . On TV, Lucy also played Sam Phillips in the series Moving Wallpaper and starred as Jasmine Strauss in Reggie Perrin, alongside Martin Clunes – the BBC’s remake of classic TV show The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin. More recently, from 2014 until 2022, Lucy has played Sarah Bloxby in Sky One series Agatha Raisin.

Nigel is best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the early 2000s – the son of “Dirty Den” Watts. He was a major character and became romantically involved with Den’s adopted daughter Sharon – until he was sensationally killed off during an episode on December 30 2005. Aside from his other TV roles, including Downton Abbey and Casualty, Nigel also had a past in musical theatre, playing in the first stage version of Mamma Mia!, Shrek the Musical and Guys and Dolls.

The actor appeared to be devastated with his scores after last week’s performance on Strictly and fans were convinced he had stormed off during the live episode. While fans loved Nigel and Katya’s performance, which they smashed out to the sound of Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing), the judges were less impressed.

Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsy Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton du Beke gave bitter feedback and awarded the duo a grand total of 31 points – giving them one of the lowest scores of the night. And Nigel looked visibly disheartened by the sharp criticism, with many viewers flooding social media to share their shock at the short change he was given.

The voting public saved Nigel and Katya, however, meaning they weren’t forced to dance for survival in the dreaded dance off – and unfortunately it was Angela Rippon, 79, and her dance partner Kai Widdrington, 28, who were shown the door during Sunday’s results show. Now Nigel has broken his silence following his disappointing weekend – with a cryptic message about ‘emotions’.

The actor, who also bills himself as a “meditator”, took to social media on Monday morning to share a lengthy post alongside a handsome photo of himself. He wrote: “We are continuing our focus on emotions this week. Today’s meditation explores how practising gratitude regularly can help cultivate a more positive mindset and increase feelings of well-being and contentment.

“Let’s find a comfortable position…..closing the eyes or lowering the gaze….. Allowing yourself to settle and taking a full breath; in for five, then out for five. Do this a couple of times and when you are ready filling the body with a half-smile of kindness.Imagining a warm, glowing feeling in the chest, growing through the belly and down to your feet, radiating throughout the body. Ask yourself, ‘What am I grateful for today?’

“Don’t overthink it, it doesn’t need to be deep, it can be family, friends, or a favourite walk or mug. Just something that brings a little smile or comfort. Bring this image or person to mind and notice how it feels in the body, using a curious, kind attention. Allowing this positive feeling of gratitude to fill the entire being. And when you’re ready, opening the eyes. Trying to think about all the things you are grateful for can help bring awareness as you go through the day. Don’t worry if you find this hard initially, asking the question is a good start. Over time you will notice there are things to be grateful for everywhere.”