Comedy producer robbed at home
£100,000 knifepoint mugging
Top comedy producer Denise O'Donoghue has been robbed of nearly £100,000 worth of valuables in a knifepoint raid at her London home.The co-founder of Hat Trick Productions was ambushed outside her home in Notting Hill by two smartly-dressed muggers after a night out.
As she got out of her Mini Cooper they cornered her, and stole her handbag and jewellery, including a £40,000 ring.
Her husband, multi-millionaire philanthropist Michael Holland, was in the house during last month’s attack, unaware of what was happening.
A family friend told the London Evening Standard: ‘She was very shaken. Her husband was in, but she was too scared to scream in case they stabbed her. She has been unable to sleep.’
O'Donoghue co-founded Hat Trick Productions with her ex-husband, former comedian Jimmy Mulville, and has worked on Have I Got News For You, Drop The Dead Donkey and The Kumars At No 42.
She has been awarded an OBE and a Bafta for her contribution to TV, and in 2003, she and Mulville sold a 45 per cent stake in their company for £23 million to private equity firm Kleinwort Capital.
Her bag was later found in Notting Hill, but no arrests have been made.
Published: 11 Jun 2008
