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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
TV chef Fanny Cradock died penniless in 'tiny flat' despite flashy lifestyle
Seventies TV chef Fanny Cradock once ruled the airwaves but since the demise of her TV career the star was left penniless and died in a 'tiny flat' despite flash lifestyle Seventies TV chef Fanny Cradock was an original when it came to showcasing her culinary skills to her adoring fans on the small screen. And at the time, she dominated the airwaves and led a lifestyle most people could only dream of back then, from driving around in a Rolls-Royce to chartering a boat in Cannes. But it seems her fame and notoriety got the better of her and she was axed from her TV show, leaving her struggling. Behind the façade, it has now come to light that at the age of 85 when Fanny died, she was penniless. Not only that, she lived and died in a tiny flat in West Sussex, which was a far cry from her once glitzy lifestyle. This comes as ITV axes Noel Edmonds' big TV comeback after just one series. Fanny's husband, Johnnie, played the role of her TV sidekick, but according to reports, she took their TV dynamic too far and was overheard speaking poorly to him on set. An assistant who was present at the time Fanny scolded her husband publicly recalled that she screamed: "Don't you ever speak to me like that again. You'll be back where you came from so fast you won't know what's hit you I am Fanny Cradock and don't you forget that." As her fame grew so too did her arrogance. She reportedly described the former Duchess of York a "trollop", labelled the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher "cheap and described comedian Les Dawson "an awful lump of lard who pulls funny faces." She added: "He's greasy, horrible and disgusting. I hate him." Her superior demeanour soon got the better of her which created her downfall. In 1976, she publicly embarrassed a housewife from Devon while presenting BBC show The Big Time. She mocked and humiliated her over her menu and went as far as pretending to gag after tasting her food. Her questionable performance left viewers angry, and she was sacked within weeks. Her career had crumbled shortly after her departure from the BBC show as work started to dry up. According to the Express, in 1994, she died after suffering a stroke at her "filthy, tiny flat" in Chichester, west Chichester. Reportedly, her funeral did not attract many people. In a bid to celebrate 40 years from the end of her TV career, the BBC has decided to reintroduced her shows online.
Edinburgh Live
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
BBC star died penniless after epic downfall despite once owning Rolls-Royce
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Fanny Cradock, once the reigning queen of British cookery, was known for her flamboyance, fear-inducing demeanour, and firm control. However, decades after she commanded the BBC airwaves in a ballgown and pearls, the original celebrity chef died penniless, alone in a squalid flat, and forgotten by the industry she once dominated. With her signature scolding voice and a wardrobe brimming with chiffon, Fanny was the first true kitchen TV star. She whipped up dishes like flambéed veal brains and green-dyed potatoes, all while barking orders at her monocle-clad husband Johnnie, who stood dutifully by her side, wine in hand. At the peak of her fame, Fanny was invincible. She owned a Rolls-Royce, a boat in Cannes, and hosted glamorous parties at her South London home - which she reportedly encouraged gossip columnists to describe as "Hollywood style." But behind the powdered face and pencilled-on eyebrows, her real life was far more chaotic. She wasn't legally married to Johnnie for most of their relationship - her second husband, Arthur Chapman, refused to divorce her, reports the Express. Fanny had abandoned their son and fled to London, eventually marrying again in secret before that, too, was annulled. It wasn't until 1977, when Arthur passed away, that she was free to legally marry Johnnie. By then, they had already established a joint TV career - with her in command and him relegated to her dutiful sidekick. Her off-camera behaviour made headlines - and not the good kind. An aide recalled her once screaming at Johnnie off camera: "Don't you ever speak to me like that again. "You'll be back where you came from so fast you won't know what's hit you I am Fanny Cradock and don't you forget that." She labelled the Duchess of York a "trollop", dismissed Margaret Thatcher as "cheap", and described Les Dawson as "an awful lump of lard who pulls funny faces. He's greasy, horrible and disgusting. I hate him." Fanny's hubris ultimately caused her spectacular downfall. In 1976, she publicly embarrassed a Devon housewife on BBC's The Big Time, ridiculing her menu and feigning nausea on camera. Audiences were outraged. Fanny was dismissed within weeks. By the time Johnnie succumbed to cancer in 1987, Fanny's career had already collapsed entirely. She declined to attend his funeral and found herself completely alone - having severed ties with both her sons and virtually everyone in the industry. When longtime friend Phil Bradford called on Fanny at her squalid, cramped flat in Chichester, West Sussex, in 1991, he worried the isolated widow might take her own life. She passed away in 1994, aged 85, following a stroke, residing in a "filthy, tiny flat" in Chichester. Hardly anyone attended her funeral. Despite the turmoil, her influence lives on. Now, over four decades since her dramatic and very public disgrace, the BBC has made her programmes available online to introduce a fresh generation to her vibrant culinary creations.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
TV cook Fanny Cradock's Hertfordshire home up for sale
The former home of forthright television cook Fanny Cradock has been put up for sale with a £5m asking presented her shows from the kitchen of grade II listed Dower House, on the outskirts of the Grove Estate, Watford, during the 1950s, 60s and the 1970s, the BBC commissioned a series Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas in which she made petit fours, mincemeat, cake, turkey and the year the BBC published a booklet giving a detailed account of every recipe and she used to say "you'll find that recipe in the booklet, so I won't show you now". Fanny Cradock, who was born Phyllis Pechey in Essex in 1909, used to appear on camera in various ball-gowns with a cook's apron and tried to inspire women with an exotic approach to often described as the UK's first TV chef, enjoyed 20 years of success appearing in 24 television series between 1955 and was best known for her on-screen partnership with her husband-to-be Major John Cradock (also known as Johnnie) and her forthright style of presenting. Her first television show in 1955 was the BBC series Kitchen Magic, followed by a move to ITV to make the channel's first cookery programme, Fanny's Kitchen. She later returned to the BBC and was a constant feature on television until 1976, when her harsh treatment of an amateur cook, on a programme called The Big Time, brought about an unceremonious end to her career on the small screen. In 1975, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Will the Real Fanny Cradock Stand Up? in which Clive Jacobs visited the took a tour of the house including the large kitchen which had electric doors as she said she "did not believe in staff having to put trays down or balance trays on their knees to open doors".She was asked if she was a good mother and said "well I think I have the perfect relationship with my sons as they say the 'old girl' and 'mum' in front of me, but they call me Fanny behind my back, I know".She said she was scared of people and "we say I am the only shy extrovert in the world and the more I talk, the shyer I become".Jacobs asked how she thought people viewed her and her husband and she said "domineering female" and "gentle, compliant husband". Cradock wrote many best-selling cookbooks and BBC booklets, including Home Cooking with Fanny Cradock, Cooking with Bon Viveur, Problem Cooking with Fanny Craddock and Ten Classic Dishes. Her recipes went on to define British food, particularly in the post-war period where her Escoffier-inspired recipes and flamboyant style made a change after years of died on 27 December 1994, aged 85, in East Sussex where she lived her final years with her husband.A dramatisation of her life, called Fear of Fanny starring Julia Davis and Mark Gatiss, was first broadcast in Dower House dates from the late 17th Century, but was mostly built in the Georgian period in the late 18th other famous resident was the composer Frederick house is on the edge of the Grove Estate, which also features a hotel, spa and championship golf course. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
