BURY-born comedienne and actress Victoria Wood has separated from her husband Geoffrey Durham after more than 20 years of marriage.

The pair, who met when they worked together in 1976, said they were parting "with great sadness".

Wood has enjoyed great success in recent years with the sitcom Dinnerladies which she wrote and starred in.

The marriage was thought to have been one of the strongest in showbiz. The entertainment world is notorious for the pressures it can put on family life.

Wood and Durham have two children, Grace and Henry, and live in north London.

Their spokesman, Neil Reading, said last night: "Victoria Wood and Geoffrey Durham have with great sadness decided to separate.

"The separation is entirely amicable - there are no other parties involved. They have asked for their privacy to be respected."

The couple are understood to have enjoyed a happy marriage but simply drifted apart.

They have been married for 22 years after first meeting as they worked together in Morecambe.

Entertainer Durham is best known as a conjuror and stage performer, who for many years was known as The Great Soprendo.

Wood found fame when she won ITV talent show New Faces at the age of 20 through her musical and comedy skills.

She went on to form a partnership with actress Julie Walters.

They later landed their own series, Wood And Walters. They performed together repeatedly over the years, but also developed their own careers, Walters finding movie fame and Woods winning plaudits for her writing and one-woman shows.

They reunited in 1998 for Dinnerladies, which won them both huge acclaim.

Durham's career has tended to be overshadowed by that of his wife. He is currently on a tour of British theatres with his magic show.

Wood, 49, underwent a hysterectomy in recent months after fibroids were discovered. She devoted a large chunk of her live shows to talking about the illness and subsequent recovery.

BURY-born comedienne and actress Victoria Wood has separated from her husband Geoffrey Durham after more than 20 years of marriage. The pair said they were parting "with great sadness".

Wood and Durham have two children, Grace and Henry, and live in north London.

Entertainer Durham is best known as a conjuror and stage performer, who for many years was known as The Great Soprendo.