The year was 1972. Tony Blackburn, already a rising star in radio, married actress Tessa Wyatt in a London ceremony. They seemed a golden couple, welcoming a son, Simon, into their lives a year later. But beneath the surface of their public happiness, a complex web of betrayals was beginning to form.
The marriage ultimately fractured after just five years, a casualty of infidelity on both sides. Blackburn confessed to an affair with a neighbor, a secret Wyatt discovered not through confrontation, but by reading his own autobiography. The revelation, he admitted, was “awful.”
The situation was tragically mirrored. While Blackburn was entangled with their neighbor, Wyatt herself was involved with the neighbor’s husband, Roger Webb. A painful exchange of affections that irrevocably shattered the trust between Tony and Tessa.
Following the split, Wyatt found love with actor Richard O’Sullivan, leaving Blackburn to grapple with his own insecurities. He confessed to struggling to understand why such a beautiful woman had ever chosen him in the first place, a lingering question that haunted him long after the divorce.
Blackburn eventually found lasting happiness with Debbie Thomson, marrying her in 1992 and welcoming their daughter, Victoria, in 1997. He credits Debbie with providing the stability that has allowed him to sustain a remarkable career in radio for decades.
Debbie often accompanies him on tour, supporting his demanding schedule of live shows and weekend radio broadcasts. She occasionally expresses concern about his workload, a testament to her unwavering care and dedication.
In a surprising admission, Blackburn revealed a fabricated detail within his own memoir – a claim of having slept with 250 women before marrying Debbie. He explained the exaggeration stemmed from a desire to deflect persistent questions about his personal life and a writer embellishing the story.
Remarkably, Blackburn hadn’t even read the completed manuscript of his autobiography before its publication, allowing the sensational claim to slip through unnoticed. He now acknowledges it as a regrettable lapse in judgment, a moment he wishes he could take back.
