Writer left nothing in his will

He was responsible for some of the most enduring British sitcoms ever created – but writer Jeremy Lloyd died penniless, it has been revealed today.

With David Croft, he created Are You Being Served? – which is regularly repeated in around the world to this day – and ‘Allo ‘Allo, which attracted 17 million viewers at its peak.

But when he died of pneumonia at the age of 84 last December, his estate was worth nothing.

Its gross value was £59,218 but once all his outstanding affairs were settled that fell to nil, according to probate office records reported in The Mirror.

Lloyd had anticipated leaving his estate to wife Lizzie and the actress Charlotte Rampling, a former fiancee.

Lloyd was an actor as well as a writer, making his film debut in 1960 in School For Scoundrels. He was also a regular on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In during the 1969–70 television season, playing an archetypal upper-class Englishman, and appeared in the Beatles movies A Hard Day’s Night and Help!

His first major success as a comedy writer was with Are You Being Served? in 1972, based on his time working for Simpsons of Piccadilly. A spin-off Grace & Favour, aired in 1992.

Lloyd also wrote the words for the popular Captain Beaky album and books in 1980.

Lloyd was married three times, including the actress Joanna Lumley for a short period in 1970. He was appointed an OBE in 2013 for services to comedy.

Published: 28 Oct 2015