12 British TV Stars Who Were Born Extremely Rich

A boy was handed a hotel on the French Riviera the day he came of age. A family grew wealthy on a lock that kept the servants away from the decanters. We thought these faces were just like us. They weren’t. Some were born into great fortunes, some into titles, great houses and the schools that money buys. One man was handed a Surrey mansion at seventy-nine and gave the whole estate away. One woman was left 2.8 million pounds, and within about ten years it was gone. From Marsha Fitzalan, Hughie Green, Michael Bentine, John Betjeman and Joyce Grenfell to Lucy Fleming, Patrick Macnee, Bamber Gascoigne, Jeremy Brett, Lalla Ward, Kenneth Clark and Clarissa Dickson Wright, these are twelve much-loved British TV faces, the world they were born into, and what they did with that start. Every story comes from their own words, biographies, interviews and obituaries. Which background surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments. Like and subscribe for more nostalgic stories about the faces we grew up with. Note: A documentary retrospective made for historical, educational and entertainment purposes. All accounts are attributed to published sources. This is an independent channel, not connected to the BBC, ITV or any broadcaster.