The funeral of Clarissa Dickson Wright, the television cook best known as one of the Two Fat Ladies, took place in Edinburgh. She died on 15 March at the age of 66.
Friends and relatives gathered at St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral for a service, followed by a private cremation. Her coffin was adorned with an unusual wreath of red chillies and artichokes, reflecting her love of food.
Born in London, Dickson Wright trained as a barrister and was the youngest woman called to the Bar at the time. However, alcohol addiction ended her legal career. In the mid-1990s, she was discovered by a TV producer while working in an Edinburgh cookery shop.
She teamed up with the late Jennifer Paterson to create the hit BBC Two series Two Fat Ladies, travelling on a motorbike and sidecar. She also appeared in Clarissa and the Countryman and Clarissa and the King's Cookbook, and served as rector of Aberdeen University.
Delivering the eulogy, the Very Rev Monsignor Michael Regan said: 'Through her education and upbringing she proved herself to be a brilliant woman... but she had the self-destruct mechanism of so many gifted people.' He added that from being homeless and penniless, she learned sympathy and found strength through Alcoholics Anonymous.
Producer Patricia Llewellyn described her as 'a force of nature and a true character, someone who knew how to tell a great story and had a fabulous sense of humour.'
