Paula Yates

Paula Yates (April 24, 1960?September 17,2000) was a Welsh television presenter born in Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, Wales. When she first came to prominence in the 1980s, as co-presenter (with Jools Holland) of Channel 4 pop music programme, The Tube, she was better known as the daughter of former TV presenter, Jess Yates, who had been sacked from his job presenting religious programmes because of scandalous newspaper stories about his private life.

Related Topics:
April 24 - 1960 - September 17 - 2000 - Welsh - Television presenter - Colwyn Bay - Denbighshire - 1980s - Jools Holland - Channel 4 - The Tube

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Yates became even more famous as the partner of Bob Geldof, with whom she lived for some years before their marriage in 1986. They already had one daughter, Fifi Trixibelle, born in 1983, and went on to have two more daughters, Peaches Honeyblossom and Pixie. She was also one of the presenters on The Big Breakfast, which was produced by Geldof.

Related Topics:
Bob Geldof - 1986 - 1983 - Peaches Honeyblossom - Pixie - The Big Breakfast

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In 1995, Paula left Geldof for singer Michael Hutchence, with whom she had another daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, known as Tiger Lily. At the same time, her public conduct and personal life began to be questioned and criticised in the media: for example, her much-publicised cosmetic surgery was mocked. When she appeared on the BBC series, Have I Got News For You, she was openly ridiculed by other participants. However, she remained amiable and laughed most of the comments off, despite calling Ian Hislop, who made most of the offending comments, "sperm of the Devil" (commonly supposed to have been a slip of the tongue for "spawn of the Devil").

Related Topics:
1995 - Michael Hutchence - Media - BBC - Have I Got News For You - Sperm - The Devil

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In 1997, Hutchence was found hanged in a hotel room in Sydney, and Paula became distraught, refusing to accept the coroner's verdict of suicide. She was eventually to seek psychiatric treatment. Meanwhile, there was a question over the custody of her youngest daughter, Tiger Lily. {{googleprintpage|id=F7hpXcrqA-8C|pg=PA196|name=}}

Related Topics:
1997 - Psychiatric - Custody

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Moreover, further media allegations were made suggesting that Jess Yates had not been Paula's natural father. A paternity test proved that the late quiz show host Hughie Green had in fact been her father. Shortly after this announcement, Paula Yates was found dead, apparently of a drug overdose. She was only 40 years old.

Related Topics:
Paternity test - Quiz show - Hughie Green - Drug overdose

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Hughie Green's son, Christopher, has gone on record as saying that Kell Hutchence (Michael Huthcence's father) never fought for custody of Tiger Lily. In his book Hughie and Paula, he says of the late Kell Hutchence that "he was one of the very few decent people out there who tried to be the peace maker in a sad story". According to Christopher Green, Kell's ex-wife and step-daughter only made motions to gain custody of Tiger after Paula's death. Tiger Lily now lives with Bob Geldof and her half-sisters, the children he had with Yates.

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