Patsy Byrne (right) was richer than she thought…(Picture: BBC)

The family of Blackadder star Patsy Byrne have revealed that the actress – best known for her role as Nursie in the second series of the show – was far wealthier than she realised.

Patsy, who died last June aged 80, stipulated in her will that five of her six stepchildren should receive £20,000 from her, with the remainder of her estate going to her sixth child, solicitor Monica Seccombe, to distribute as she saw fit.

Except it turns out her estate was actually worth a bit more than that – around £1.5m to be precise – leaving daughter Monica Seccombe with a legacy of £900,000 (after inheritance tax) coming her way.



‘When she drew up her will, she didn’t realise how much money she had,’ Monica told the Mail On Sunday, adding that the money would be ‘distributed equally’ among her and her four stepsisters (Patsy’s stepson Christopher died last year, leaving no children).


Her stepsister Margaret Seccombe explained: ‘The largest part of the estate was left to Monica to distribute as she saw fit.’

The actress is most fondly remembered for her role in the BBC classic (Picture: BBC)

‘There was no argument about it. My stepmother arranged it that way so there could be some flexibility just in case one of us had died or another of us was in poverty at the time of her death. There has been full consultation with all the family.’

The actress also left £50,000 to the Theatrical Guild, an organisation which supports backstage staff, as well as £50,000 to Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in Hillingdon, West London where she spent the final few months of her life.

Her family have also made donations to the Little Sisters Of The Poor Care Home in Kennington, South London, as well as St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney.

Patsy notched up a string of TV and stage roles during her career but will be most fondly remembered as Nursie (whose real name was actually Bernard) Largely due to scenes like this:

MORE: Actress Patsy Byrne – aka Blackadder’s Nursie – dies aged 80

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