French faced hate campaign after mixed-race adoption
DAWN FRENCH has disclosed that she and former husband Lenny Henry employed security to protect them from racist attacks at their home, after they adopted a mixed-race daughter.
French and Henry, two of Britain’s best-known comedians, were subject to “hatred” from strangers after marrying, with some even trying to burn their house down. She said the attacks had made her “steel up a bit”.
The couple were married for 25 years before their separation in 2010, adopting daughter, Billie, in 1991.
In an interview with The Sunday Times magazine, French said: “I never thought, ‘Oh, look at me in a mixed-race relationship!’ I fell in love with a man, and he happened to be black, and we adopted a mixed-race daughter. I only realised it was an issue when there was hatred from utter t----. I had to attend to it when people tried to burn our house down and left s--- on the door. But although that was hugely disappointing and shocking, you have to get past it.”
She said such experiences “make you steel up a bit and think, ‘Bring it on. I can deal with this’.
“It was just us living in our time and doing our jobs and being the people we were. And we were lucky we had a big house and a gate and could employ people to protect us ... lots of mixedrace couples weren’t so lucky.”
She has spoken previously about the racism faced by her ex-husband and daughter, describing in 2012 how “someone put an oily rag through our front door and tried to burn us down”.
French, who has written a book called Me. You. A Diary, also spoke of her early years working with Jennifer Saunders. Claiming the pair got their big break thanks to “PC male comedians” wanting to include more women, she said they simply fell into their profession as a result of “serendipity”.
Her book is published on Oct 5.