Society figure Lucy Birley, who took her own life last summer, left virtually nothing in her will to her husband, nightclub boss Robin Birley.
I can disclose that former model Lucy, 58, shared her entire £3.65 million fortune among her four sons from her previous marriage to rock star Bryan Ferry.
In an indication that she planned her death, Lucy signed a codicil to the will just six days before she killed herself — making her brother Charles Helmore one of her executors, along with a solicitor, in place of her cousin and niece.
Her will, drawn up in 2013, stipulated that the capital of her estate should go to her sons, Merlin, Isaac, Tara and Otis Ferry, six months after her death. They also received all her personal chattels.
Society figure Lucy Birley, who took her own life last summer, left virtually nothing in her will to her husband, nightclub boss Robin Birley
Robin, the son of Annabel’s nightclub founder Mark Birley and stepson of the late Sir James Goldsmith, received only the interest on Lucy’s capital until it was distributed to her sons.
A friend of Robin tells me: ‘She had long planned to leave all her money to her children.’
Probate records reveal that Lucy left more than £3.5 million after debts were settled. She and Birley, 60, whom she married in 2006, owned separate homes.
Lucy died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound in the bed and breakfast cottage run by another brother, Mark Helmore, in Ireland. She had been suffering from depression for some years, and a coroner at an inquest in Ireland recorded a suicide verdict.
Her will, drawn up in 2013, stipulated that the capital of her estate should go to her sons, (l-r) Merlin, Isaac, Tara and Otis Ferry, six months after her death
She stated in her will that she wanted her ashes scattered at her mother’s graveside near St Patrick’s Church, New Quay, County Clare.
Convent-educated Lucy was already a successful model when she met Roxy Music singer Ferry, and she was pictured in 1982 on the cover of the band’s final album, Avalon.
Lucy and Ferry married the same year, and she was credited with helping him overcome an addiction to cocaine.
But his workaholic tendencies and her own struggles with addiction put a strain on their marriage, and they divorced in 2003.
Lucy was in a social circle which was beset with tragedy. Her close friends, fashion designer Alexander McQueen and style guru Isabella Blow, both took their own lives.
Izzard gets Gary’s sign of approval
Estimated to have amassed a £30 million fortune from his recruitment business, Gary Goldsmith, 53, has evidently lost none of his talent for networking.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s black-sheep uncle posted this snap of himself looking like a superannuated Santa and giving a thumbs-up sign as he bumps into Labour luvvie Eddie Izzard, who was in fuchsia lipstick and mascara.
Gary Goldsmith posted this snap of himself looking like a superannuated Santa and giving a thumbs-up sign as he bumps into Labour luvvie Eddie Izzard
Let’s hope the excitement doesn’t go to Gary’s head. Fifteen months ago, he was fined £5,000 and sentenced to a 12-month community order after a lively evening out concluded with him punching his fourth and current wife, Julie-Ann.
Sacha says he faced ITV ban for swearing
Showbusiness provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen — he of the lime-green mankini — caused a stir when he swore during an ITV News interview at a movie premiere.
It’s not his first controversial run-in with British television.
‘I went for an audition on a talent show on ITV,’ says the Borat actor. ‘The routine was very rude, it was very extreme, it had a lot of expletives in it. The crowd were furious.
‘The head of the channel, who I think was Nigel Lythgoe at the time, called up my agent and said I’m banned from this channel.’
Lythgoe, who was then Controller of Entertainment at LWT, remembers the audition well. ‘It was very funny but extreme and could certainly have caused offence,’ he tells me.
‘I felt the “Spokesperson for the Mujahideen” was a little too much for an early Saturday evening family show.
‘I certainly didn’t ban him from LWT. Nor did I have the power to ban him from ITV. I was a personal friend of his manager, Mandy Ward, and I called her to apologise and explain why I couldn’t use Sacha on that particular programme.’
Glitziest of breaks for Sienna and pals
Bragging about an exotic holiday in the middle of winter could easily annoy those shivering back home in Blighty, but actress Sienna Miller and her best friend, society model Poppy Delevingne, don’t seem to mind a jot.
The former flatmates, who enjoyed a glitzy break in the Maldives for the New Year, posed in the bright sunshine for a series of beach selfies alongside some of their pals.
Sienna Miller posed for a smiley holiday snap alongside Jaime Winstone, Poppy Delevingne and aerospace boss James Cook
Ray Winstone’s actress daughter Jaime, 33, posted a photo online in which she looks care-free in rose-tinted sunglasses next to a bikini-clad Poppy, 32, Sienna, 37, and Poppy’s husband, aerospace boss James Cook.
The group — which also included Poppy’s model sister, Cara, 26, her girlfriend, American actress and model Ashley Benson, 29, plus former Oasis singer Noel Gallagher — stayed at the Ocean Reef Houses on the island of Amilla Fushi, where accommodation starts at £3,499-a-head per week.
Chatto’s turn to get his shirt off
Princess Margaret’s burly grandson, Arthur Chatto, appears to be emulating Poldark star Aidan Turner’s famous shirtless scene.
Hiking up the 3,789ft Lochnagar near Balmoral in Scotland, the 19-year-old son of Lady Sarah Chatto braved the elements by stripping off his top to reveal a manly six-pack torso.
The 19-year-old son of Lady Sarah Chatto braved the elements by stripping off his top to reveal a manly six-pack tors
The picture, which he shared on social media, was liked by his girlfriend, Lizzie Friend, a fellow second-year student at the University of Edinburgh.
As well as mountain-climbing, Arthur’s extensive exercise regimen includes Arctic diving, boxing and bodyweight circuits.
‘It’s not all about how you look — but much more how you feel and perform,’ he says.
Taking a leaf out of the book of Alfred Hitchcock — who liked to do a cameo turn in his films — the writer James Graham had a brief, uncredited moment on screen in last night’s Channel 4 drama Brexit: An Uncivil War.
He was seen deep in thought, working on his laptop beneath a tree beside the Albert Memorial in London.