ITV hit show Men Behaving Badly, revolving around two London flatmates and their slovenly antics, quickly became one of the biggest shows of the 90s.

Beloved star Martin Clunes rose to fame on Doctor Who and No Place Like Home, before delighting fans as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly between 1992 to 1999.

The hit BBC comedy about Gary and Tony made household names of its stars, with the cast featuring a whole host of huge names including Neil Morrissey, Leslie Ash and Caroline Quentin.

READ MORE: Neil Morrissey's life – huge net worth, Amanda Holden fling and surprising second career

To celebrate Martin Clunes' 61st birthday, Daily Star takes a closer look at where the cast of Men Behaving Badly are now.

Martin Clunes – Gary Strang

Long before Doc Martin and Nightstalker, Martin Clunes rose to fame as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, which he played between 1992 to 1999.

It is no surprise that Martin entered the entertainment industry however, as he is the son of famous Shakespearean actor Alec Clunes. It is reported that his mother Daphne also worked for Orson Welles.

Educated at the Royal Russell school in Surrey and then the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, West London, he later made his television debut in popular sci-fi television programme Doctor Who in 1983's Snakedance, opposite fifth doctor Peter Davison.

In 1983, he also became a recurring character in the television series No Place Like Home as Nigel, and has since appeared as Dr Martin Ellingham in the ITV Series Doc Martin, as well as programmes and TV films including Goodbye Mr Chips, Reggie Perrin and Arthur and George.

He also presented the documentary, Martin Clunes: My Travels and other animals in 2019 and has hosted programmes including Have I got news for you.

The actor's net worth is now estimated at £15million.

In 2015, Clunes was also made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama, charity and to the Dorset community, where he lives with his wife Philippa Braithwaite.

He was previously married to the actress Lucy Aston, but their marriage came to a bitter end after seven years, with Martin branding the union "rotten".

Lucy hit back, telling the Mail: "I want Martin to stop telling everyone what a failure it was and what an awful time he had. In truth, I was the one who had a terrible time."

She added: "I'll always love Martin, but he needs to take responsibility for the collapse of our marriage instead of constantly dismissing it so scathingly in public."

In 1997, Martin married executive and producer Philippa Braithwaite, who is known for producing television programmes and films including 1998's Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

Clunes and Braithwaite met while working together and have since worked on productions including Doc Martin, Manhunt and the 2021 follow up, Manhunt: The Night Stalker.

They have a 23-year old daughter called Emily.

In an interview with the Irish News, Clunes said he proposed to Braithwaite after they were separated for a long period of time when he was filming in San Francisco and Hawaii.

Clunes said: "It was the longest we'd been apart, and I missed her so much that I proposed, while she was really jet-lagged and in such a strange place."

It is reported that the couple live on a 130-acre farm in Beaminster, Dorset with a variety of animals including 14 horses.

Neil Morrissey – Tony Smart

When Harry Enfield left his role as Gary's flat mate Dermot in series one of Men Behaving Badly, Neil Morrisey took on the role of Gary's new flat mate Tony Smart – and became a household name in the process.

Before BBC comedy fame though, he landed his first theatre role in 1982 and soon soon grew to national TV fame as biker Rocky in the drama series Boon in the late eighties.

However, generations of fans will also know Neil as the voice of popular children's TV character Bob The Builder, with him even scoring a UK number one record with the theme song Can We Fix It?

Along with leading roles as Greg McConnell in ITV's The Good Karma Hospital, DC Nigel Morton in Line Of Duty and most recently, Christopher Reasley in The Long Call, Neil Morrisey has become one of the UK's biggest TV icons.

He even made a guest appearance as a vicar in a 2007 episode of Australian soap Neighbours too.

It is no surprise then that from his long and successful acting career, the star is estimated to have an eye-watering net worth of over £4.7m.

Away from the cameras, Neil has also had a number of co-star romances, including dating his Boon co-star Amanda Noar – with the couple later marrying in 1987.

Together they welcomed a son, but later divorced in 1991.

Following his leading role in comedy Men Behaving Badly as Tony, he also dated another of his co-stars, Elizabeth Carling.

Neil also had a whirlwind romance with Hollywood actress Rachel Wiesz in 1998, after the couple met on the set of My Summer With Des.

In 2000, it was revealed that Neil had a fling with Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden – who was married to Les Dennis at the time.

It is reported that Amanda and Neil embarked on an affair while starring in Happy Birthday Shakespeare on The BBC.

Les and Amanda got back together, but later filed for divorce in 2003, with both addressing the affair publicly since then.

Neil has since addressed the affair and apologised to Les publicly on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, saying: "I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become.

"It was very difficult for him and for that I'm very sorry."

Neil has since found lasting romance with lawyer Emma Killick.

When Neil isn't delighting audiences on our TV screens, the actor also has a second job as a pub owner.

The actor owns a chain of pubs across the country, including The Plume of Feathers in Barlaston, as part of the company called With Neil Morrisey.

Caroline Quentin – Dorothy

Caroline Quentin played Gary's long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy in Men Behaving Badly.

After landing roles in Minder, Play For Today, Casualty and Mr Bean, she played Dorothy for more than seven years, before taking on a leading role as Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek.

From there Caroline has not left our screens, narrating children's series Humf and appearing in TV programmes such as Just William, Dickensian and most recently, The Lazarus Project.

She also reunited with Men Behaving Badly co-star Martin Clunes on four episode of Doc Martin between 2015 to 2019, and has appeared in various theatre productions.

Caroline also delighted fans in 2020 when she took part in Strictly Come Dancing alongside Johannes Radebe, before the pair were voted out in week five.

Away from the limelight, Caroline was married to comedian Paul Merton from 1990 to 1998, and later found romance with Sam Farmer, who she married in 2006.

Together the couple have two children called Emily and William.

Caroline has also spoken openly about living with coeliac disease, with the star often being left suffering a number of severe symptoms that affected her every day life before being diagnosed.

Speaking to Daily Mail, she said: "I was on the set of Restoration Home when he [the doctor] rang to tell me. He said 'You have coeliac antibodies', and I was advised to stop eating gluten.

"My immediate response was, 'Is there any gluten in vodka or wine?' I'm pleased to say there isn't – although there is in traditional beer."

She added: "The good news is that once you're properly diagnosed, although there isn't a cure, you don't need medicine. All you have to do is avoid gluten and you won't have any issues. The earlier you are diagnosed the lower the risk of health problems."

Leslie Ash – Deborah Burton

Leslie Ash played Deborah in Men Behaving Badly – but she was already a huge star by the time she appeared in the BBC comedy.

At the age of four, she landed her first TV role in an advert for Fairy Liquid, before modelling for magazines including Jackie as a teenager.

Leslie was not the only famous star in her family however, as her sister is Hot Gossip dancer Debbie Ash.

She also played the romantic lead in 1978 film Quadrophenia, before appearing in The Curse Of The Pink Panther, C.A.T.S Eyes, Nutcracker, Home To Roost and music videos for bands including Dire Straits and Iron Maiden.

Leslie also scored a top 40 UK single with co-star Caroline Quentin called Tell Him in 1996.

Since then, Leslie has appeared on BBC Radio 4 series Vent, as well as starring in Holby City, Casualty, Quadrophenia sequel To Be Someone, short film Twelve and on Celebrity Masterchef.

The star also discussed her own experiences with the cosmetic beauty industry in the 2008 documentary, Leslie Ash: Face To Face.

Speaking about a procedure that left her lips altered permanently, she told The Daily Mail: "'The only thing I’d say to people is: Do your homework.

"This ­­man-made plastic silicone has been ­injected into me, gone into the muscles around my mouth and become hard. I had steroid injections which helped soften it a bit but it won’t ever go away."

Away from the limelight, Leslie is married to former footballer Lee Chapman, with who she has two children.

She has also spoken openly about contracting a variant of superbug MRSA in 2004, after it was reported an epidural needle came loose while she was in hospital to treat an abscess on her spine.

The actress told The Sun that doctors said she would be in a wheelchair by 60 years old, following the life-changing spinal injury.

"They said I'd be in a wheelchair by 60 because of my terrible hips and knees. I was only given a slight hope of recovery, but because I wanted it enough I was able to achieve what I have today."

She credited staying positive as much as she can with helping her fight the condition, adding: "If I sat down and did nothing I'd be in a wheelchair now, without a doubt. You need a lot of mental strength to keep fighting."

For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

READ MORE:

• Dinnerladies cast now – tragic death, Corrie, addiction battle and rival soap roles
• ITV Watching stars now – huge fortune left in will, co-star romance and career U-turn
• BBC's Morecambe and Wise secrets – unearthed lost episodes, royal fans and third star

Source: Read Full Article