Rob Brydon's real life as father-of-five and 'traumatising' divorce

Rob Brydon is probably best known for his portrayal of lovable Bryn West from hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

The 56-year-old played the role of the popular character during the show's three series from 2007 to 2010 - as well as the 2019 Christmas special.

But the Welsh actor and comedian makes appearances across a number of TV shows, including today's Saturday Kitchen and has presented the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? since 2009.

He is also known for his role in The Trip where he played a fictionalised version of himself alongside Steve Coogan. The pair have now made four series of the popular comedy show.

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Away from his acting roles, Rob has been married twice, and has five children.

He first married Martina Fitchie in 1992 after they met in a pub in Cardiff whilst he was working at Radio Wales, the Mirror reports.

The couple moved to London as his acting career took off, and Martina worked as a nanny.

They share three children together - Katie, 27, Amy, 23, and Harry, 25.

But their marriage came to a close in 2000, where Rob has said he was left 'traumatised' by the divorce.

It wasn't until 16 years later that he decided to open up about the painful split in an interview with The Times.

"You lose excitement with marriage," Rob admitted, explaining their relationship "just came to an end".

"You can't have everything, though."

He said he felt "derailed" and "lost" by the heartbreak, became depressed, and saw his weight plummet.

"I’d been married, with three children, then that goes. All the stage posts in your life, the boundaries that there are, they vanish," he said.

At the time, the pair played down the split, and the doting dad didn't want it to impact his children.

"I'd love to know what could be more traumatic than divorce," he added.

"We both wanted it to happen. We had three children, so of course I looked on it as a bloody failure, but I have friends who’ve been through divorces that make my miraculous hair curl."

They have both since gone on to find love again, and Rob married for the second time in 2006 to TV producer Clare Holland.

He has two more sons with her - Tom, 13, and George, 10.

The couple live together in the popular Strawberry Hill enclave of Twickenham.

Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2017, Rob said he's at his happiest when he's surrounded by his family.

'I've got five kids, aged between 18 and two," the star said.

"As they get older and start going off and doing their own thing, I find I'm happiest at big family occasions when everyone is there.

"Either that or when I've been drinking heavily. I didn't start drinking until my mid-30s, so I get drunk remarkably quickly."

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