Late BBC anchor George Alagiah leaves just £49,000

The will of the late BBC newsreader stated that George Alagiah had £49,387 to his name when he passed away after a nine-year battle with bowel cancer

• Shajil Kumar
• 05 June, 2024

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By: Shajil Kumar

Late BBC newsreader George Alagiah who passed away last year has left just £49,000 to his wife and family in his will, according to media reports.

He passed away on the 24 July 2023 after a decade-long battle with bowel cancer.

The will of the former News at Six presenter stated that Alagiah had £49,387 to his name on his time of passing at the age 67.

The will instructs that the money will be given to his widow Frances Alagiah. The couple were married for 39 years and they have two sons Adam and Matthew.

According to BBC, Alagiah earned between £335,000 and £399,999. The corporation published these figures just two weeks before his death.

In his will, he had stated that if his wife were to pass before him, his sister Miriam Christine Denington would be the guardian of his children. Alagiah also requested that his body be cremated.

The presenter has been the face of BBC News at Six since 2007.

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Alagiah was diagnosed with bowel cancer nine years ago and underwent 17 rounds of chemotherapy and five operations to treat the disease in 2014, which had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

He returned to work in April 2022 following his treatment, but six months later he stopped presenting news as his disease had returned.

Alagiah was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka on November 22, 1955, before his family moved to Ghana in the wake of ethnic unrest. He and his siblings were later educated in England.