BBC Moonflower Murders star Lesley Manville's famous ex-husbands and 'awful' family tragedy

Lesley Maville is a beloved actress who has been on our screens for years. She returns tonight in Moonflower Murders, the sequel to the much-loved Magpie Murders based on the Anthony Horowitz novel, on BBC One where she returns as detective Susan Ryeland.

The 68-year-old actress has had some amazing roles over her career, even stepping into Princess Margaret's shoes for Season 5 of The Crown. Viewers will also recognise her from films including Gorwn-Ups, Vera Drake and Mr Turner.

She has been nominated for two British Academy Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Another Year and Phantom Thread, with the latter also earing a nomination for an Academy Award in the same category. But what do we know about her life off-screen?

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Below we look at her love life and two famous ex husbands, and the awful family family tragedy that changed her outlook on life.

Lesley Manville's famous ex-husbands

Lesley was once married to a Hollywood A-lister Gary Oldman, known for huge films including Darkest Hour, Harry Potter and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The pair wed in 1987 and share a grown-up son named Alfie.

They split three months after their son was born. Gary went on to remarry four more times, including a betrothal to actress Uma Thurman in 1990.

Lesley went on to marry actor Joe Dixon,best known for his role of Jacques Clemons in The Mummy Returns. Now single, Lesley told the Guardian last year that she doesn't date, adding: “Nobody asks me. But that’s not a problem.

"I don’t think, come on, where are you?, because meeting someone that you like enough to say, ‘I might invest some emotion, some time in this’ is … The cocktail of the man that I need is so difficult. They’ve got to be good at their job, really good at it.

"They’ve got to be funny, that’s top of the list. I know there are brilliant, funny men out there, but it’s harder as you get older. Most men my age are with someone. They tend not to be good on their own. They’re needy. They want somebody doing things for them. In that respect, I’m not their girl.”

Lesley Manville's 'awful' family tragedy

Lesley previously opened up about the 'really difficult life' her sister Brenda faced. Nine years her senior, Brenda lost her husband and two daughters to Huntington's disease before dying from a brain tumour. Neither Brenda nor her husband knew he carried Huntington’s, or that he had passed the disease on to their children.

The condition stops parts of the brain working properly over time, leading to difficulty concentrating and memory lapses, depression, difficult moving, involuntary jerking of the limbs and body and problems swallowing, speaking and breathing.

Brenda's husband died aged 40 and Brenda nursed their daughters until they died, one aged 50 and the other passing in her early 30s. On Desert Island Discs, Manville broke down when she talked about how Brenda's 'really difficult life”.

“How you begin to deal with losing your children, God knows," she said. Speaking to The Guardian last year (2023), she said: “If you looked under the microscope at Brenda’s lot, it wasn’t great. But she was always celebratory, always wanting to push the boat out.

"She travelled a lot and would’ve done more if she hadn’t got a brain tumour. It was just awful what happened to her.

"It has obviously made me very grateful for having a healthy child. But she always made me think, don’t shy away from doing what you want to do. Have the adventures.

"I’ve been through run-of-the-mill things – divorce, heartache, all that regular stuff. What she went through was exceptional. She was quite an extraordinary woman.”