Comic: 'I swallowed Emery's ashes'

Freddie Starr has claimed he accidentally drank the ashes of Dick Emery.

The comedian, whose biggest claim to fame is the headline Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster that publicity guru Max Clifford planted in The Sun, has today told a story straight out of a sitcom plot.

In an interview to help sell tickets for his current tour, he told the Liverpool Echo: "I once drank Dick Emery by mistake.

"A girl I knew used to go out with Dick and kept his ashes in a jar in her kitchen. One day I went around to visit her and made us both a coffee. I put a couple of teaspoons of coffee in the mugs, added milk and sugar and took them into the sitting room.

"I took a sip of mine and nearly gagged. She took a sip of hers, grimaced, and asked me, 'What's this?' 'I got it from the big jar,' I replied. "'Oh God,' she said. 'That's Dick.'"

Starr says that when he dies his coffin paraded around Liverpool including in front his favourite chip shop.

Published: 29 Apr 2003