Lee Evans has lived a reclusive life since he retired from touring, with the comic making his first public appearance with his wife Heather Nudds in five years on Wednesday.
Once a fixture on British TV and the stand-up circuit, the comic gave up his regular shows in 2014 to spend more time with his family.
Thanks to amassing a huge net worth of £6 million, Lee, 59, has been able to retire in luxury, and now resides in Billericay, Essex, where he’s managed a property business and his production company.
In recent years Lee has been rarely spotted, with just a handful of public appearances after his last tour ended.
So, as Lee makes a brief return to the public eye, MailOnline takes a look at his life away from the spotlight.
Living in Essex
Lee Evans’ quiet life away from the spotlight: After the comic made his first appearance in two years (pictured) – a glimpse at his life since he retired from touring in 2014
Previously: The funnyman gave up touring in 2014 to spend more time with his wife of
Lee resides in Billericay in Essex with his wife of 39 years Heather, in a part of the town known for its big-name residents.
One resident previously told Essex Live: ‘It’s famous in the area for it’s high house prices and the quality of the houses and I’m sure there are plenty of famous faces down there.’
Since then, Lee and Heather put focus into their property business, which was set up in 2012, but according to Companies House, was liquidated in 2021.
Lee and Heather have one daughter, Mollie, who after studying at The Ringling College of Art and Design, has become an illustrator and online content creator.
The couple married on September 22 1984, and Lee frequently referenced his wife during his stand-up shows
He previously revealed he met her by chance on a bus when they were teenagers, telling The Guardian: ‘Her mum was dying, and I saw her go by on her way to hospital.
‘And I was talking to a mate in the street, and I said, ”Who’s that?” And he went, ”I dunno.” She looked distraught. ”And about two weeks later, I met her coincidentally when I went to see this band play – and we got on really well. I made her laugh, I think.”
A vast fortune
Cashing in: Throughout his decades of touring, Lee earned himself a hefty fortune, and according to The Richest, Lee has a net worth of around £6.1 million
Throughout his decades of touring, Lee earned himself a hefty fortune, and according to The Richest, Lee has a net worth of around £6.1 million.
His production company, Little Mo Films Ltd, also has a hefty £229,000 in net assets, according to documents filed by Companies House in April 2023.
The company were involved in all of Lee’s stand-up DVDs from his tours, including the most recent, Monsters in 2014.
Little Mo Films also produced the 2008 short film The Tonto Woman, which starred Charlotte Asprey and Richard Quinn.
In 2011, Lee’s record-breaking 67 date UK Roadrunner tour sold 911,000 DVDs and 733,000 tickets, netting him an eye-popping £12.9million.
As well as stand-up comedy, Evans made a brief foray into mainstream acting, with prominent roles in 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary – in which he starred alongside Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz – and 1995 science fiction epic The Fifth Element, with Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman.
Rare appearances
Don’t mind me: Since his retirement, Lee has been spotted a handful of times, including an appearance during a bike ride in Essex in 2021
Since his retirement, Lee has been spotted a handful of times, including the premiere of Kenny in Liverpool in 2017.
He also came out of retirement briefly to star in a charity production of Harold Pinter’s Wither Would You Go with Jack Whitehall that same year. It remains his last on-stage performance.
In 2021, Lee was spotted for the first time in almost a year as he headed out for a bike ride in Essex.
The star looked content and relaxed as he got in a spot of exercise on his bike, adding a blue cap, black trainers and sunglasses to his sporty look.
Stepping away from the spotlight
Time away: Lee confirmed his retirement from stand-up comedy during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2014, after the death of his manager ‘put things into perspective’
Lee confirmed his retirement from stand-up comedy during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2014.
On the show, he told Jonathan that the death of his manager, Addison Cresswell, had ‘put things in perspective’.
He said: ‘I don’t know, I’ve come to a junction in my life where – please forgive me it sounds very narcissistic – I’ve done musicals and plays and films and stand up and you sort of get to a point where you go “I don’t know what else to do next”.’
He added: ‘I want to go and see my wife, she deserves my time, I’ve been working solidly.’
Ross asked how long he planned to carry on in his job, to which he replied: ‘I am knackered. This is it… Finished. This is the end. I am not doing anything.’
Lee went on: ‘All I have ever done is work and Addison always used to put his arm around me and say, “Don’t worry, I will look after you. It is okay”…
‘My dad always said to me, “You have got to work” so I constantly worked and did comedy tours.
‘I think I have ignored for far too long my missus, and I want to spend a lot more time with her.’
Family tragedy
Tragedy: Lee’s retirement was tinged by tragedy in 2019, when his father died after a lengthy career in comedy
Lee’s father Dave tragically died in 2019 after his own lengthy career in comedy.
He had reportedly been unable to perform for seven years due to health problems and his death has left his colleagues in the the comedy scene distraught.
Dave Evans began performing on nightclubs before appearing on cruise ships such as the QE2.
As well as mainstream stand-up and music gigs, Dave also did impressions of famous performers such as Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Max Bygraves and Tom Jones.
In the mid-1980s he appeared on the ITV impressions show Copy Cats and was a guest on the 1984 prime time show Knees Up hosted by Jeff Stevenson.
His last stage performance was said to have been in October 2012 in a performance playing Max Bygraves in Re~Educating Archie at the Underground Theatre in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Dave Evans continued to perform on cruise ships, clubs and holiday camps until he began suffering ill-health.
Before his son became a performer himself, Lee got a taste of showbusiness when he used to travel with his father as he performed at working men’s clubs around the country.
