Daily Record UK
By Derek Alexander
August 24th, 2014
TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright leaves £33k to family after her belongings are auctioned off to pay tax bill
The celebrity cook, who blew a £2.8million inheritance during years of hard drinking, still owed the taxman £17,000 when she died. Records have revealed she had just £9000 in the bank when she passed away. Clarissa Dickson Wright’s belongings were auctioned off to pay the tax bill.
After the “Two Fat Ladies” star’s treasured keepsakes went under the hammer, raising about £40,000, her goddaughter Sara Wain-Heapy inherited £33,000.
Close friend and lawyer, Derek Morris, said the troubled presenter was determined to leave money for her family. He added: “She was very anxious that she wanted to be in the black when she died. We did quite well in the sale, which meant she was solvent. It’s what she wanted. It has been well documented that she had problems with money during her life. She had high earnings from her broadcasting and books but she was also very generous to people. She was such a delightful character. I knew her for years and I was pleased to help sort out her estate.”
Clarissa Dickson Wright had inherited £2.8million from her mother in 1975 but blew it within 12 years after struggling with alcohol and was made bankrupt three times.
The eccentric chef finally managed to win her battle with the bottle and didn’t touch a drop for 27 years. She teamed up with Jennifer Paterson in 1996 for the BBC2 food show Two Fat Ladies, which featured the pair riding around the country on a motorbike with a sidecar. They made four series before Jennifer died of lung cancer in 1999 aged 71.
Derek Alexander, News Reporter with the Sunday Mail
