Alex Kingston, who’s partnered with Johannes Radebe on the latest season of Strictly, was once married to a Hollywood A-lister, but it would be a relationship that ended in heartbreak
Matt Davies Trendswatch Reporter
17:30, 18 Oct 2025
Alex Kingston was once married to a Hollywood A-lister(Image: BBC)
Strictly star Alex Kingston was once married to a Hollywood A-lister and fled the UK for a new life in America following their split. An actress known for her roles in the US medical drama ER and British sci-fi classic Doctor Who, Alex, who’s partnered with Johannes Radebe on the latest season of Strictly, has been married three times.
She tied the knot with her current husband, television producer Jonathan Stamp, at an Italian ceremony at the All Saints Anglican Church in Rome in 2015.
Alex (who recently shared the reason why she signed up for the BBC show) was previously married to the German writer Florian Haertel, with whom she shares her daughter, Salome. Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be, and they subsequently separated in 2009 before finalising their divorce four years later.
Her first husband, however, is by far the most famous of them all. She tied the knot with Ralph Fiennes, the iconic actor nominated for an Oscar three times for his roles in Schindler’s List, The English Patient and Conclave. He is also known for his roles as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise and M in the Bond films.
Alex Kingston was married to Schindler’s List actor Ralph Fiennes(Image: NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Alex met the Shakespearean actor, tying the knot in 1993 after a 10-year relationship, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). But it would be a marriage marred by heartbreak, as they would go on to finalise their divorce by 1997.
Speaking previously about the relationship, she revealed: “We were like strangers – very fragile. His mother was dying and somehow we thought the wedding was going to heal everything. But that was crazy, of course.”
Ralph reportedly had an affair with his Hamlet co-star, Francesca Annis, who was 18 years older than him and played his mother on stage.
In the aftermath, Alex, who told the Standard in 2012 that she felt “worthless”, opted to leave Britain behind and jetted off to Los Angeles.
Once the couple divorced, she told the Daily Mail that she believed that she would “never find anyone else as good” as her husband, noting how it was “ridiculous”, but at the time, she had “so little self-esteem”.
Alex met the Shakespearean actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Alex added: “Divorce is awful but it is also something I don’t regret happening to me because it has shaped who I am now.”
Ralph and Francesca were in a relationship from 1997 to 2006, but it was alleged that Ralph had an affair with Corneila Crisan, a Romanian singer, reports the Mirror. Speaking to the Standard in 2012 about Ralph, Alex said she no longer felt a “connection to him.”
She added: “It’s been so long, I can’t quite believe I was ever married to him.”
Alex’s move to LA proved to be the making of her career as she earned the role of Dr Elizabeth Corday in hit medical drama ER. She appeared on the show for 12 years.
You can watch the next episode of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One on Saturday, October 18, from 6.30pm to 8.35pm.
