TV comedian Sean Hughes staggering £4million fortune has been donated entirely to charity after a battle over the wording of his will that lasted for 10 years
10:40, 18 Mar 2026Updated 11:58, 18 Mar 2026
Sean died in 2017(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
TV comedian Sean Hughes £4million fortune will go to charity following a 10 year court battle over his will. The Never Mind the Buzzcocks star’s whole fortune has been handed to homelessness charity Shelter.
The comedian died aged 51 in 2017 following a lengthy and successful career and ten years later, a court has finally awarded the charity his fortune. In his final will, he left his £1.8m north London home and two other properties worth £2.15m to the homelessness charity Shelter, of which he was a keen supporter.
But due to a problem with the wording in the will, it had to go to London’s High Court, with a judge only now – nearly a decade after his death – ordering that the properties should go to Shelter.
The decision means Sean’s former home in Glasslyn Road, Crouch End, and two more in nearby Edison Avenue and Elder Avenue, worth £1.5m and £650,000, will go to the charity.
Sean was known for his appearances on Never Mind The Buzzcocks(Image: Andrew Hasson/REX/Shutterstock)
Sean’s will ended up before the High Court as, having used an online platform to draft it without legal assistance, he included vague wording. The central problem was his specific bequest of “my three houses to Shelter” because he in fact only owned one home, while two others were in the name of a company of which he was the only shareholder.
Although Sean’s family agreed that the shares in the company – and therefore the properties – should go to Shelter, the case had to be referred to a judge to make the decision.
And following a short hearing conducted via video link, the judge, Master Iain Pester, concluded that the “correct construction of the will” was that the shares pass to Shelter. Had the judge declared otherwise, then the two properties would have gone into Sean’s residuary estate to be held on trust for his wider family.
Speaking afterwards, Andy Harris, the charity’s director of income generation, said: “Sean Hughes was a passionate supporter of Shelter’s work, and we are enormously grateful for the generous gift left in his will. We have worked closely with Sean’s family to ensure his wishes are honoured.
“Gifts left in wills are a vital source of income for Shelter. This donation will enable us to continue to deliver expert support and advice to people impacted by the housing emergency and to campaign for everyone’s right to a safe and secure home.”
After emerging from the 1980s alternative standup scene, he became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at 24, before fronting his own cult hit C4 show and going on to become a long standing team captain on BBC music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
As well as comedy, he wrote novels and collections of poetry, and from 2002 presented the Sunday morning programme on the then newly founded BBC 6 Music.
Sean had been a heavy drinker throughout his career and, although he quit in 2012, had begun drinking again before he died, saying: “Apparently I’m tedious when sober”.
He died after suffering a cardiac arrest in October 2017, with it later discovered that he was suffering with late stage liver disease.
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