A woman has been charged over a raid on the home of Michael Winner's widow Geraldine four years ago. Above: The pair after their 2011 wedding

A woman has been charged over a raid on the home of Michael Winner’s widow Geraldine four years ago. Above: The pair after their 2011 wedding

A woman charged with robbing the widow of Michael Winner of £150,000 of jewellery, art and cash four years ago claimed to have been in a relationship with the star. 

Geraldine Winner, then 77, suffered serious head injuries and a broken finger when she was beaten with a metal pole, hit with a kettle and tied up during a raid on her flat in Knightsbridge, central London, on October 9 2015.

Personal trainer Gurgana Geuorgoieva, 48, who claims to have been in a relationship with Mr Winner between 1999 and 2002, is alleged to have worn a disguise including a wig to carry out the attack.

Police offered a £10,000 reward for information at the time, saying items stolen included a heart-shaped diamond pendant, cash including euros and a painting of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice by the artist Franz Richard Unterberger.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Saturday that all but one of the items stolen have now been recovered.

Scotland Yard said Geuorgoieva, who lives in a flat in Russell Road, Holland Park, west London, was arrested on Thursday and charged with one count of robbery on Friday.

The charge states she allegedly stole jewellery, art and cash to the value of £150,000.

Geuorgoieva appeared in the dock wearing a denim jacket over a black and white top, and black trousers.

She spoke to confirm her name, address, date of birth, and that she has dual Bulgarian and British nationality, at a brief hearing during which prosecutor Manjit Mahal outlined the case against her.

Mrs Winner suffered serious head injuries and a broken finger when she was robbed in her flat (pictured) in Knightsbridge, central London, on October 9, 2015

Mrs Winner suffered serious head injuries and a broken finger when she was robbed in her flat (pictured) in Knightsbridge, central London, on October 9, 2015

Mrs Winner suffered serious head injuries and a broken finger when she was robbed in her flat (pictured) in Knightsbridge, central London, on October 9, 2015

Geuorgoieva was not asked to enter a plea.

District Judge Margot Coleman remanded her in custody and told her she will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on July 5.

The judge told Geuorgoieva: ‘The charge you face can only be dealt with at the Crown Court so I’m sending you for trial there.’     

At the time of the raid on Mrs Winner’s home, neighbours heard screaming and shouting as she was forced by a man and woman to hand over ‘a number’ of valuables, including jewellery. 

It is not known how the pair accessed the two-bedroom flat, which Mrs Winner bought with £3.6million cash in 2014, because the luxury apartment block is guarded by a 24-hour concierge and CCTV.  

One theory is they may have sneaked inside the apartment block after hiding in a communal garden.

They spent up to three hours in Mrs Winner’s home, which has a large open-plan living area dominated by Winner’s iconic director’s chair. 

They repeatedly struck her with an iron bar and a kettle and tied her up as they demanded to know where her valuables were hidden.

Police suspected at the time that Mrs Winner, who married her husband in in 2011 after a 54-year on-off relationship, may have been specifically targeted.

She was the biggest beneficiary of the director’s legacy, receiving £20 million of his £45 million. 

At the time of the raid on Mrs Winner's home, neighbours heard screaming and shouting as she was forced by a man and woman to hand over ‘a number’ of valuables, including jewellery

At the time of the raid on Mrs Winner's home, neighbours heard screaming and shouting as she was forced by a man and woman to hand over ‘a number’ of valuables, including jewellery

At the time of the raid on Mrs Winner’s home, neighbours heard screaming and shouting as she was forced by a man and woman to hand over ‘a number’ of valuables, including jewellery

She was left his Holland Park mansion which was sold to pop star Robbie Williams for £17.5 million, a second London home and £5 million cash. 

Mr Winner, who directed more than 30 films during his colourful career, died of liver cancer aged 77 in January 2013.  

He had been nursed by his wife following a lengthy battle with liver disease.

After her husband’s death, Mrs Winner, a former dancer who he married in 2011, said in a statement: ‘Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous. A light has gone out in my life.’

During his career, the director reinvented himself as a restaurant critic, writing about food in his typically flamboyant style in his Winner’s Dinners column for the Sunday Times.

His appearance in adverts for motor insurance coined the catchphrase ‘Calm down dear, it’s a commercial’.

He also founded and funded the Police Memorial Trust following the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.

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