Chicago comeback for Dennis

Back to work: Les Dennis faces the photographers

Comedian Les Dennis returned to the West End stage on Tuesday night amid tabloid speculation about his marriage.

The performer, who is starring in the musical Chicago, said little to waiting reporters as he arrived at the Adelphi Theatre.

He pulled out of Monday night's performance after newspapers printed photographs of his wife, Amanda Holden, with Men Behaving Badly actor Neil Morrissey.

Talks: Les Dennis and Amanda Holden

The 46-year-old Family Fortunes presenter, who is believed to have spent Monday evening with his wife, told reporters: "I'm fine. I'm going to work."

Leaving the theatre, he said when asked if he had anything to say to concerned fans: "Well, it's nice that they care. I've got to go."

Dennis, 46, is thought to have travelled to Somerset to see Holden, 29, where she is working on a TV drama called The Hunt.

The couple issued a statement saying: "We have a great love for each other and, at the moment, we need time and space to discuss the situation and would very much appreciate the understanding of the media."

They married five years ago after meeting at a party in Bournemouth, but Dennis has admitted in the past that the 17-year-age gap worried him initially.

"I was worried, well scared, actually about the age difference. I realise now that it's about loving each other and not whether you relate to the same kind of music," he once said.

Neil Morrissey with Men Behaving Badly co-star Martin Clunes

Holden, 29, best known for her role as Miss Titley in ITV sitcom The Grimleys, was pictured hugging Morrissey in The Mirror newspaper.

The pair recently starred as screen lovers in BBC One's romantic comedy Happy Birthday Shakespeare.

Morrissey, 37, has so far refused to comment, but he was ribbed about the pictures when he appeared as a guest during the recording of the BBC's satirical quiz show They Think It's All Over.

Fellow panellist Jonathan Ross said: "I want to get home straight away after the show. I want to get home to my wife before Neil does."