Rebecca Humphries joins the cast of ITV comedy Piglets this week, playing Melanie – but several years ago she was thrown into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
The actress and writer was publicly humiliated when her boyfriend took part in Strictly Come Dancing – only to be photographed kissing his pro dancer. The fallout was tabloid fodder for the rest of the year.
Before Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima were embroiled in their recent Strictly scandals, Rebecca knew first-hand all about the pitfalls that came with the BBC dance show – a so-called entertainment series she has since called “sinister”.
Here’s everything you need to know about Rebecca Humphries, her heartbreak after being cheated on, and how she’s moved on.
Who plays Melanie in the cast of Piglets?
Actress Rebecca Humphries portrays Melanie in Piglets, a new comedy from ITV.
The series follows a fresh intake of police trainees as they arrive at Norbourne Police Training College. No-nonsense Superintendent Julie Spry and the less-strict Superintendent Bob Weekes (Mark Heap) have the job of overseeing the training of the new recruits. All of the rookies have motives for being there, but some are more legitimate than others…
A synopsis from ITV1 says: “The government’s stated policy of recruiting 20,000 new police officers in double quick time has not come at the cost of lowering standards. Or has it?
“Set in a fictional police training college, Piglets is about a newly-recruited group of six very different would-be cops and the handful of key staff whose thankless task it is to knock them into some kind of shape.”
From the writing team behind the excellent Green Wing, Piglets already managed to cause controversy. The Police Federation called for the title of to be changed, saying it was “highly offensive” and a “disgusting choice”.
Of course, the word pigs is a slang, and insulting, nickname for the police. Piglets, in turn, is a reference to trainee police.
What is Rebecca Humphries famous for? What’s she been in?
Rebecca Humphries is a writer and actress, whose career was somewhat overshadowed for a time by her relationship with stand-up comedian Seann Walsh (more on that later).
She first appeared on TV when she played Holly’s mother in the Matt Lucas and David Walliams comedy series Come Fly With Me in 2011.
Other smaller roles followed, including playing Kate in one episode of Cardinal Burns, and Rebecca in The Intern. However, in 2013, she bagged a bigger TV role in the comedy Big Bag World, which starred her boyfriend to be Seann Walsh.
Rebecca went on to portray Jennifer in Cockroaches, Rachel in the Morgana Robinson comedy The Agency, Caroline in Trigonometry, and Lucy Two in Friday Night Dinner.
More recently, Rebecca portrayed Carol Thatcher in the Netflix Royal drama The Crown, Julia Fincham in Ten Percent, and Carrie Symonds in the TV movie Partygate.
She’s also an accomplished stage actress, having appeared in productions of Temple at the Donmar Warehouse, Pomona at the National Theatre, and Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre.
In 2022, she published her top selling memoir Why Did You Stay? about her dysfunctional relationship with Seann Walsh.
Did Piglets star Rebecca Humphries date Seann Walsh?
Actress Rebecca Humphries dated comedian Seann Walsh from 2013, when they met on the set of TV comedy series Big Bag World, to 2018. That year, Seann appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones.
Of course, most of ED! readers will know what happened next… Seann and Katya were photographed kissing. It was Rebecca’s birthday. The pictures that were plastered all over the front pages of newspapers the next day.
Fans rallied around to support Rebecca when the news first broke and she confessed that not only was she “blown away” by the support, but that she may not have realised his behaviour was “unacceptable” if it wasn’t for them.
Seann branded Rebecca a ‘psycho’
In a statement, she revealed that the pair had been in an abusive relationship. After the pictures emerged, a devastated Rebecca dumped Seann by posting a message on Twitter. In it, she claimed she had suspicions that he had been cheating on her for weeks. However, in response, he had branded her a “psycho” and accused her of being “nuts”.
While Rebecca and Seann had been a couple for five years, Katya was married to fellow Strictly professional Neil Jones. Seann later branded the kiss “a mistake”, but went on to mock Neil in his stand-up routine joking that the professional dancer was “gay”.
According to Rebecca, neither Seann or Katya had personally apologised to her. In his Twitter statement, he apologised but did not refer to girlfriend Rebecca.
Katya and Neil subsequently split. Seann went on to appear on I’m A Celebrity… in 2022.
Erm so where’s the apology to @Beckshumps? Oh and mate, you’ve massively messed up here. Monumentally. She’s a 10. You’re now in the bin
— Sophie Barley (@SophieBarley) October 7, 2018
What did Rebecca Humphries’ statement say?
After he was caught out, Seann tweeted: “In light of the story in today’s newspaper I would like to offer my sincere apologies for my actions. This is no excuse but it was a one-off drunken mistake which I am truly sorry for.”
Katya echoed that by writing: “I’m so sorry about any offence or hurt I may have caused with my actions. I wasn’t thinking and it was a one-off mistake after some drinks. I love my husband and we are very happy together, this is not a reflection on our relationship.”
Meanwhile, Rebecca posted a length message on Twitter. She began by saying “I am no victim”. She continued by revealing it was her birthday when Seann and Katya went for “one drink”.
Rebecca said: “We spoke and I told him, not for the first time, that his actions over the past three weeks had led me to believe something inappropriate was going on. He aggressively, and repeatedly, called me a psycho/nuts/mental. As he has done countless times throughout our relationship when I’ve questioned his inappropriate, hurtful behaviour.”
Seann Walsh’s ‘hurtful behaviour’
Humphries went on to suggest that this was not the first time Walsh had been manipulative in their relationship, saying that he had exhibited controlling behaviour before.
She said: “I have a voice and will use it by saying this to any woman out there who deep down feels worthless and trapped with a man they love. Believe in yourself and your instincts. It’s more than lying. It’s controlling. Tell some very close friends who, if they’re anything like my wonderful network, will swoop in and take care of the logistics and of you.”
In her book Why Did You Stay?, she details her relationship with Seann, which she describes as controlling, coercive, and gaslighting.
What has Rebecca said about Strictly Come Dancing?
Rebecca Humphries has since branded Strictly Come Dancing “sinister”. In her book Why Did You Stay? she explained that, with over a decade of experience in acting, she thought she knew everything there was to know about “facade”.
She said: “Thing about facade is, the audience is at least aware that it’s all a sham, they know the sword didn’t really kill Hamlet, and she’s not really Cinderella because she’s also in Hollyoaks. But the next step after facade is altogether more sinister – a place that’s entirely opaque, where the audience are made to think what they’re seeing is the truth, and the reality is kept secret. And I couldn’t have wished for a more striking introduction to that than at the television programme Strictly Come Dancing.”
Rebecca then continued, saying Strictly had been her favourite show for 10 years. However, she claimed that the show is a “den of iniquity” papered over with sequins.
Strictly is ‘sinister’
She said: “The studio you see on television is in fact a four-sided MDF box held up with scaffolding – behind the walls, there’s just steel bars and murk. That’s fine; it’s how most television works. But the superficiality of the studio has nothing on some of the personalities that inhabit it.”
The Crown star then continued. “They’re savvy, too, those dancers. Not been paired with the next Gene Kelly? Easy. Create a storyline for you and your partner; a love story, or a torrid affair, a bit of spice. Column inches and public intrigue will follow, the kind that will get those phones picked up and keep you in the running for that all-important win as long as possible.”
She then alleged that there were rumours that dancers would sleep with their celebrity partner every year. This was to allegedly give them confidence and a “swagger” which means they perform better on TV.
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Who is Rebecca dating now? Does she have a boyfriend?
Rebecca admits she has been left with “trust issues after Seann Walsh cheated on her. Sadly, her next relationship failed, too. Speaking to The Guardian, Rebecca said: “In the two years after the Strictly incident, I worked very hard pulling out of my body the sticky, tar-like residue that gaslighting leaves you with. I met someone new. Someone sensitive, kind, thoughtful. We were ecstatically happy. We moved in together, then we moved to LA, and two weeks after arriving in the US he broke up with me.”
However, Rebecca has since moved on with new boyfriend James Robinson, who she met 18 months ago. He’s a writer and musician. Celebrating their one year anniversary in November 2023, he posted on Instagram: “One year since we met. I love you @beckshumps.”
Meanwhile, Seann has been in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley since 2019. They welcomed their first child, a daughter called Wylda, in February 2023.
How old is Piglets star Rebecca? Where is she from?
Rebecca was born on October 03, 1987, in Norwich.
She is currently 36 years of age.
The now actress attended the Thorpe St Andrew School, before becoming a student of the Norwich Theatre Royal arts course. She eventually attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Read more: 5 things the BBC needs to do immediately to restore our faith in Strictly Come Dancing
Rebecca Humphries stars in Piglets, starting on Saturday, July 20, at 9.30pm on ITV1.
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