By Indigo Jones

Copyright walesonline

Award-winning actress Alex Kingston will be strutting her stuff on the dancefloor as she embarks on a new challenge. The former ER and Doctor Who star will be taking part in this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing , alongside 14 other celebrity participants. Despite a successful career on screen, Alex Kingston has had a rollercoaster of a love life before finding joy with her current spouse. The 62-year-old was linked to an A-list Hollywood celebrity whom she met at university, before he later broke her heart. Known for her TV appearances, here is the behind the scenes of Alex’s life off camera. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter . The actress captured the hearts of Doctor Who fans when she landed the role of River Song, appearing during the reigns of David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi on the sci-fi series. But before that she was well known across the globe for her role as Elizabeth Corday in ’90s medical hit drama ER, a role she landed after her career launch from ITV’s saucy The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders. Alex has also appeared in Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life, Arrow and A Discovery of Witches. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Alex has a net worth of $6 million (roughly just under £4.5 million), thanks to her extensive on screen career. Now, the actress will be taking a different type of on screen role, as she competes to win the coveted glitterball trophy with her celebrity partner. Alex has been candid about her excitement for Strictly, confessing in 2019: “Sarah Hadland and I talked about how much we’d like to do Strictly Come Dancing. Then I discovered she’s a trained ballet dancer. ‘Hang on a minute! That’s not fair!’ So, I can’t do it on a season when she is on it!” Aside from her on-screen endeavours, Alex has faced significant romantic turmoil. She first encountered Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1983. The duo tied the knot a decade later, but their union ended disastrously when Ralph embarked on an affair with a woman 18 years his senior. Reflecting on their relationship, Alex once said: “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.” In 1995, Ralph took on the role of Hamlet at Hackney Empire, acting opposite Francesca Annis who played Gertrude, his character’s mother. Despite the age difference, their on-stage chemistry led to a real-life affair, resulting in Ralph leaving his wife Alex and declaring his love for Francesca. At the time, Ralph was 32 and Francesca was 50. Francesca, who has three children with photographer Patrick Wiseman, reportedly left him for Ralph. Alex opened up about her emotional turmoil post-divorce to the Daily Mail, stating: “I was feeling worthless, that I would never find anyone else as good as my husband, which is ridiculous, but I had so little self-esteem.” She 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 together for a decade from 1997 to 2006, dismissing any concerns about their age gap. Francesca once said, “Of course I don’t spend days agonising over the age difference. How can I? There is nothing I can do about it.” She added: “Ralph and I have been together ten years now so, whatever happens, we have had a very good, different relationship and an interesting time.” However, their relationship came to an end following allegations of infidelity when Romanian singer Corneila Crisan claimed she had a two-year affair with Ralph. The day after these claims surfaced, Ralph and Francesca announced their separation, stating: “Miss Annis confirms today that she and Ralph Fiennes are to separate.” Alex subsequently wed German author Florian Haertel and they became parents to a daughter, Salome, in 2001. However, the pair parted ways in 2009 and concluded their divorce proceedings four years later. Thankfully, Alex has rediscovered love and is currently married to television host Jonathan Stamp, with the couple exchanging vows in Italy in 2015.