Magician Paul Daniels left an estate of less than £500,000 after debts and costs of £1million
The entertainer left the majority of the money to his wife and magician's assistant Debbie McGee
MAGICIAN Paul Daniels left an estate worth just under £500,000 after debts and costs of more than £1 million were deducted.
He left the bulk of it to his wife Debbie McGee, 57, who was at his side when he died of cancer in March aged 77.
The gross value was more than £1.5million but the net value was just under £500,000, according to his will.
Paul and Debbie — who worked as his assistant on his telly magic shows — were married for 28 years.
The magician, known for his catchphrase “Now that’s magic!”, died at their £2.5million home in Wargrave, Berks, earlier this year.
Debbie revealed they spent their last days together in the garden, eating magnum ice-creams in the sun and watching ITV television show The Chase.
Speaking on Loose Women in March, she said: “He didn’t understand. When they said, ‘Do you want to know what’s wrong Paul?’ he just said ‘Tell Deb.’
"The tumour was pressing on the part of the brain that processes information."
But despite the entertainer's serious medical condition, Debbie said they were closer than ever in his final weeks.
“We told each other we loved each other every 10 minutes. He was romantic every day so he said lovely things every day.”
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Daniels was known for a string of catchphrases, including the line: "You'll like this... not a lot, but you'll like it."
Speaking at the time of his death The Magic Circle said Daniels had "been an inspiration to many magicians" and is of "legendary status" in the world of magic.
In a statement, it said: "At the height of his career The Paul Daniels Magic Show on BBC1 pulled more than 20 million viewers - that was more than one third of the British population regularly tuning in on a Saturday night to watch a magician make them laugh and witness feats of wonder such as his famous Chop Cup routine.
"In this day and age of fragmented media platforms, no other magician is likely to be able to achieve such a TV ratings record."
It added that "the magic world owes Paul a huge debt".
At the peak of his fame, he also hosted a number of other television series including the quiz shows Odd One Out, Every Second Counts and Wipeout, and the children's television programme Wizbit.
In 2010, Daniels appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with Ola Jordan.
He was the second celebrity voted off, following DJ and actor Goldie and said: "It got rid of my inhibitions. That's a good thing that came out of Strictly.
";Debbie and I renewed our vows the other week and, for the first time in 22-and-a-half years, I danced properly with her."