Legendary TV writer Kay Mellor has reportedly left a £13.2million fortune to her family

Legendary TV writer Kay Mellor has reportedly left her £13.2million fortune to her family, including her actress daughters. Kay Mellor, who was the creator of TV hits such as Fat Friends and Band of Gold, passed away at the age of 71 in May 2022, just days after celebrating her birthday.

According to the Daily Mail, “Mellor’s will put her money into trust for her husband Anthony, her two daughters Emmerdale and Coronation Street actor Gaynor Faye and television producer Yvonne Francas and her extended family. The estate had a net value of £13, 231, 014, rising to £14, 640, 914 in gross value.”

Kay Mellor who had daughter Yvonne at 16, followed by Gaynor when she was 19, decided to go to night school when she was in her late 20s. It was reportedly whilst doing an A-Level in theatre studies that she was inspired to write. 

When Kay Mellor passed away in 2022, a spokesman for her TV production company Rollem Productions said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday May 15.

“We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary. We ask that you please respect the privacy of the family and friends at this time.”

Kay Mellor began her career writing plays and then went on to work on Coronation Street. She created the children’s drama Children’s Ward, but her big break came when she created the ITV drama Band of Gold in 1995. The drama was about a group of prostitutes. 

During her 27 year TV career, Kay Mellor also created Fat Friends, The Field, The Chase, In The Club, Girlfriends and BBC’s The Syndicate, the most recent series was in 2021. When Kay Mellor passed away, actress Ruth Jones who starred alongside James Corden in Fat Friends said: “I am completely shocked to hear the news of Kay’s untimely death.

“Her contribution to British television was outstanding and I feel privileged to have worked with her. Such a down-to-earth, funny, big-hearted person whose brilliance lay in seeing the extraordinary in the day to day.

“She was a great mentor to me when I first started writing- and always hugely encouraging of new writers- a real testament to the idea of paying it forward. Her series Fat Friends was a massive turning point in my career and I will be eternally grateful to her for what she did to me. British television has lost one of its greats. Thank you Kay for all that you gave us. I cannot believe you’ve gone.”