Paul Merton, a staple of the panel show Have I Got News for You since its inception in 1990, has also wielded the deadpan hosting baton on Room 101 from 1999 until 2007. Turning to the romantic chapters of his life, Paul is blissfully married to fellow comedian Suki Webster, who became his third wife when they tied the knot in 2009 after a bout of shared illness on an Indian tour led to romance.
Taking their chemistry to TV, Paul and Suki shared the small screen with their Channel 5 venture, Motorhoming With Merton And Webster. Opening up about their bond, Suki revealed: “We got on so well during the filming of Motorhoming, even the crew were saying, ‘Do you two never argue?’ She added: “We rarely do as we find most things funny most of the time. We make each other laugh each day.” Chiming in, Paul noted: “That’s really important. It is good for your mental health. There is always some humour somewhere, even in the darkest times.”
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Paul Merton and Suki Webster got married in 2009 (Image: BBC)
His first marriage was to actress Caroline Quentin, whom he married in 1990 after an encounter on a train on the way to the Edinburgh Festival resulted in a book-tossing flirtation. Their shared spotlight moment came in The Live Bed Show in 1995.
Two years on, however, their union unexpectedly ended, leaving Caroline blindsided. “I didn’t know my marriage was going wrong till it ended, really,” she reflected to the Guardian.
The situation deteriorated as she was hounded by photographers; she told the Independent: “It is such a dreadful time, when you’re feeling so vulnerable and crap as a person, and then that happens.”
At 63, Paul then found love with Sarah Parkinson who once stood in for Caroline during a three-month stint on The Live Bed Show in London.
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Paul and Caroline were married for eight years (Image: X)
Paul and Sarah, both writer and producer, tied the knot in an unofficial ceremony in the Maldives in 2000. Tragically, their plans to start a family were halted when, shortly after seeking IVF treatment, Sarah felt two small lumps on her breast.
At 39, she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and underwent surgery but opted against chemotherapy or radiotherapy, fearing it might be too much for her system. Instead, the writer sought alternative treatments and exchanged vows with Paul in an official service in Rye, Essex, in 2003.
Barely 12 weeks later and 19 months post-diagnosis, Sarah tragically succumbed to the illness, leaving Paul bereaved at her side. At the time, he shared: “After her initial devastating diagnosis of cancer in February 2002 Sarah successfully lived with the disease for the next 19 months.
“She refused chemotherapy because she knew it would finish her off. Instead, she boosted her immune system with a mixture of nutritional therapy, yoga, meditation, positive thinking and laughter. Consequently she led a full and active life right up to the last couple of weeks when her condition suddenly worsened.
“She faced the situation with courage and died serenely and without pain in the early hours of Tuesday morning.”