BBC comedian Freddie Starr died 'penniless' and alone as children kept their distance

In a twist of fate and thanks to a stranger's generosity the comedian was laid to rest

Comedy icon Freddie Starr, who was once one of Britain's most beloved entertainers, was laid to rest in the UK thanks to the generosity of a complete stranger who stepped in to cover his funeral costs after the star died penniless. The funnyman, who earned millions at the peak of his fame in the 1970s and 80s and even fronted his own BBC show, passed away from a heart attack in 2019 at the age of 76.

At the time of his death, he was living in a modest one bedroom townhouse in Spain's Costa del Sol and was reportedly on the verge of homelessness, the Express reports.

Concern quickly arose that the eccentric comedian would be given a pauper's burial in Spain - a burial conducted at public expense for someone with no money, often in an unmarked or communal grave - a far cry from his wish to be laid to rest back home in the UK.

His Bulgarian carer, Nelly Georgieva, who found his body, revealed that she had not heard from his family in years, leaving his final arrangements uncertain until a kind stranger got involved.

At the time, Nelly stated: "Freddie had bad feelings about back home, he felt the British people had deserted him.

"It would be terrible if Freddie ends up being buried in a pauper’s grave. I don’t want to see that happen but I’m worried if I tried to do something about it his relatives would object," she continued.

Starr, survived by six children, three ex-wives and a widow left behind nothing but unpaid bills and no clear arrangements for his funeral.

That's when Sheffield based funeral director Michael Fogg, who had never met the comedian, stepped in. He covered the cost of Starr's repatriation and funeral from his own pocket, at no cost to Starr's family.

Explaining why he chose to do this, Mr Fogg stated: "Anyone who can make a funeral director laugh must be a bloody good comedian. And Freddie Starr could make me laugh. He shouldn’t be buried in foreign land, he should be brought back to be in his own country."

Thanks to Fogg’s generosity, Starr was finally brought home to Britain, ensuring the comic who once had the nation in stitches avoided the humiliation of a lonely pauper’s grave overseas.

Mr Fogg continued: "For those asking why I am paying, well it is my money, it is my business and that is what I want to spend my money on. He should be reunited with the people he loved and his family. He shouldn't be buried in foreign land, he should be brought back to be in his own country."

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