Charlie left just £5,000

The comic built up a £5million fortune at the height of his career in the Fifties and Sixties, but blew most of it on racehorses, yachts, gambling and fast cars.

So his eldest son Christopher, who inherited his entire estate, is left with virtually nothing.

But Christopher told The Mail on Sunday he was not concerned with the size of his inheritence.

‘My father left me more than money could ever buy,’ he said. ‘I have wonderful memories of him. He was a one-off character who enjoyed his money and his fame.

‘He once asked me if I minded that he wouldn’t be leaving me a lot, and I told him that of course I didn’t mind. He gave me something very special in my life.

Drake, who was 81 when he died of a stroke in December 2006, once estimated that he had lost £3 million gambling, including £112,000 in one night at a casino. He once said: 'I am, by nature, a very big spender. Even as a kid, if you gave me threepence I would blow it straight away. So once I was topping the bill at the Palladium, I wanted that boat and that mansion.’

Drake was a stubbon man and gathered a reputation for being incredibly difficult to work with. He also had a penchant for 17-year-old dancers. Even his last girlfriend, who he met the age of 70, was 17.

Published: 6 Jul 2008