Iconic BBC star died virtually penniless after blowing £7m fortune before tragic death

BBC legend Keith Harris lost all of his money shortly before he died from cancer. The TV legend shot to fame in The Keith Harris Show, which ran from 1982 to 1986, as he became nown for his work with puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. He also went to No.4 in the music charts in 1982 with Orville's Song, with his music and TV work bagging him millions.

But Harris revealed that he lost his fortune over the years after suffering from dyslexia, telling Mail on Sunday in 2014: "I've made about £7m throughout my career, but I've lost it all too. It's all down to the dyslexia. I can't read or write. Reading contracts? I didn't, I just signed them.

"I got into trouble many times. I signed myself away for 14 years to someone once - 25 per cent I was paying. I had no idea. I've been brought up to trust people but you have to be careful. People think you're very rich and want to see if they can make money out of you."

He added: "You don't give up showbusiness, it gives you up."

Harris ended up working at Butlin's resorts and in the theatre to make ends meet, but things took another turn after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2013.

He had been due to perform with Orville in Aladdin at Hull New Theatre when he was given just 12 months to live, but eventually managed to return to the role the following year.

In 2013, he had his spleen removed and went through chemotherapy, and nearly died on the operating table, leaving him unable to work for a year.

He even claimed he could hear the medical staff talk about whether he was going to make it as he lay under anaesthesia.

He eventually managed to work again, but the cancer returned in 2014 and he died in hospital in April 2015 aged 67.

Harris left behind his fourth wife Sarah, and their children Kitty and Shenton, as well as a daughter, Skye, from his first marriage to singer Jacqui Scott, and his mother Lila and brother Colin.