Warren Clarke: A Clockwork Orange Star Left with Just £13,056
Warren Clarke, best known for his role as Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel in the BBC crime drama Dalziel and Pascoe and as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, died at age 67 in November 2014 after a brief illness. Despite his fame, he left behind an estate of only £13,056, which was reduced to nothing after debts were settled.
Clarke frequently voiced concerns about the modest wages paid to BBC television actors. He once revealed in an interview: "In those days, the BBC didn't pay you until you had done the first studio recording, so I had been working on the show for two months without any money. I went to the cashpoint, put my card in the machine and it spat it out." His wife, Michele, was even forced to sell her engagement ring to cover household expenses.
Leslie Grantham: Dirty Den Died 'Virtually Penniless'
Leslie Grantham, who played the iconic "Dirty Den" on the BBC soap EastEnders, died of cancer at age 71 in 2018. Reports described him as "virtually penniless" in his final years. Following the collapse of his 31-year marriage to actress Jane Laurie, he spent some of his final years staying in a friend's spare room.
Grantham planned and paid for his own "no frills funeral" because he feared his family would have to cover the costs. According to the Daily Mail, his only assets were a small share in a company worth less than £23,000 and a small home in Bulgaria.
Hylda Baker: Comedian Died Penniless in Psychiatric Hospital
Hylda Baker, the British actress and comedian known for the ITV sitcom Nearest and Dearest, died penniless in 1986 at a psychiatric hospital in Surrey. Despite a long and successful career—including appearances on the BBC show Good Old Days in 1955, her own television series Be Soon in 1963, and the sitcom The Best of Friends—she faced financial ruin.
Baker suffered personal tragedies, including two ectopic pregnancies. In 1961, she was hit by a car and awarded only £4,000. Six years later, her chauffeur stole £2,500 from her, but police recovered just £45. By age 67, she showed signs of cognitive decline and moved into a retirement home at 76. She died alone and penniless, with only a handful of people attending her funeral.
Terry-Thomas: Hollywood Star Lost Fortune to Parkinson's
Terry-Thomas, the British comedic actor who broke into Hollywood in the early 1960s with films like Bachelor Pad and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, spent his final years in poverty due to medical costs and Parkinson's disease. Despite a prolific film career, he lost his fortune and was forced to live in a charity flat. A grand benefit concert raised enough money to move him to a nursing home shortly before his death in 1990.
Freddie Starr: I'm a Celeb Star Died Broke in Spain
Freddie Starr, once one of Britain's best-known comedians, became a recluse in his final years, relying on his carer as his only regular company. He was estranged from his six children when he died. After a successful stand-up and TV career, he appeared on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! but was forced to leave after collapsing during a trial.
In 2019, Starr died of a heart attack in his £170,000 one-bedroom flat on the Costa del Sol in Spain. Reports at the time indicated he was so broke that plans were made for a pauper's burial in Spain until a stranger intervened to pay for his repatriation and funeral.
