Sir Lenny Henry says finding out about his biological father ‘hit him like a truck’ as he opens up on his childhood

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Lenny Henry recently discussed his childhood and revealed his emotional reaction to discovering who his biological father was.

Lenny, age 67, was born from a secret and intense love affair. His father was Albert Green, and his mother, Winnie, was a Jamaican immigrant who was already married with four children at the time.

Lenny always believed Winston was his father, but he later found out that his real dad was actually Albert, a long-time family friend.

The comedian recently shared with The Mirror that they experienced a shocking life event. They described feeling lost and uncertain afterwards, but ultimately things worked out for the best. They were hopeful through a difficult time, and that hope paid off.

He added: ‘Winston was my dad – he raised me.’

When Lenny was ten years old, his mom told him he had to visit his ‘Uncle’ Albert every Friday to help around the house.

I hadn’t met Albert before, so I greeted him and went inside. He was wearing a hat and had made a delicious chicken and rice dinner. I enjoyed it so much that I started visiting him every Friday.

I didn’t mind doing household tasks – I’d happily vacuum and wash the windows. He’d pay me two shillings and sixpence, which was enough to buy a Cadbury’s chocolate bar and a can of Coke, and that pretty much summed up our entire connection.

This continued for some time, until Albert’s son, Lloyd, revealed the truth when he was twelve years old. Lloyd simply asked, “Do you have any idea why we’re here?” When Albert said he didn’t, Lloyd replied, “That’s your dad.”

Henry remembered feeling incredibly shaken, describing it as if the world had been turned upside down.

Albert and Winnie shared a secret love that lasted for years, but it ultimately failed. Many years later, Albert passed away alone and with very little money.

The story starts in 1957 in Dudley, England, where Lenny was born. Winnie, age 32 at the time, had moved there by herself, leaving her husband and their four children – two sons and two daughters – back home in the Caribbean. She intended to bring them over once she had established a life for herself.

She got a job as a cook at a hospital and moved into a shared house at 103 Wellington Road in Dudley. It was an old, run-down building that was eventually demolished to build a leisure center.

She met Albert, a 30-year-old Jamaican man who had moved to the industrial town of Dudley a few years before. Both feeling lonely and missing home, they started a romantic relationship.

Another tenant at the shared house was a then 19-year-old fellow Jamaican, Vince Holness.

Lenworth George Henry, known as Lenny, was born on August 29, 1958, at Burton Road hospital in Dudley. Within the close Jamaican community, however, everyone knew who his father was, even from the beginning.

For a while, Winnie, her partner, and their baby son enjoyed life as a family. However, Winnie’s past in Jamaica soon resurfaced. In the early 1960s, Winston arrived with their four children – Hylton, Beverly, Seymour, and Kay – and Winnie moved to a town flat with them, bringing their young son, Lenny, along.

By chance, Winston decided to forgive his wife and raise their son as his own, and he ended up working at the same factory as Albert. Bean Industries, located in nearby Tipton, was where they both worked, with Albert specifically operating a spin grinder to create parts for British Leyland.

I remember Lenny talking about Albert before he passed. He said that right until the very end, Albert was full of life and wanted to share everything. He’d often reminisce about Jamaica, where he lived for a while, and all the memories he had from when he first arrived in England. It was like he was trying to fit a lifetime of stories into those final moments.

He would talk, and I’d just listen and nod along until he left. I didn’t feel sad or tearful; I respected him, but we weren’t close emotionally.

My brother Seymour, who’s a bit younger than me, was completely heartbroken at our dad’s funeral, and I remember thinking he was letting his grief out in a really raw, unrestrained way. It made me wonder why I wasn’t feeling that same level of intense emotion.

He was deeply saddened when his strong-willed mother passed away in 1998. She had struggled with heart issues and diabetes for years, and ultimately had both legs amputated.

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2026-04-16 04:11