Was Dennis Waterman A Wife Beater?

Dennis Waterman was a wife beater. Dennis Waterman admitted to beating his ex-wife in a candid television interview in 2012.  After years of denying being abusive, the television actor admitted to punching his first wife, Rula Lenska, twice before adding, “She certainly wasn’t a beaten wife, she was hit, and that’s different.”

During an interview with Piers Morgan’s Life Stories series, which aired on ITV in 2012, the 64-year-old New Tricks star detailed his turbulent marriage to Lenska. He attempted to justify his actions by saying, “It’s not difficult for a woman to make a man hit her.”

The marriage ended in 1998 after the Polish-born actress accused him of becoming a violent drunk. Mr Waterman admitted to being violent because he struggled to win arguments with his “strong, intelligent” ex-wife. “We were having a terrible time and arguing a lot,” he explained.

“The problem with strong, intelligent women is that they can, well, argue.” And if you can’t get a word in edgewise… and I… I lashed out. Something must have triggered it. When you’re frustrated and can’t think of a way out… It happened, and I’m very, very sorry.