Monkhouse gags willed to writer pal

Bob Monkhouse has left his treasured joke books to a fellow comedy writer, it emerged today.

The late showbiz star bequeathed his entire collection of one-liners to his friend Colin Edmonds.

His bequest ensures the gags will live on and may be used on TV again in the future.

Monkhouse, who died of prostate cancer last December aged 75, left the bulk of his £1.4m (€2.1m) estate to his wife Jacqueline.

But he made special provision in his will for his beloved jokes, inserting a clause which stated: “I give all my gag books, specifically the two loose-leaf handwritten files and the eight loose-leaf typewritten files in their pilot cases, and all the copyright therein, free of inheritance tax, to Colin Edmonds.”

Edmonds was responsible for the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, and during his lengthy career has written for the likes of Tom O’Connor, Little and Large, Mike Yarwood and Brian Conley.

Monkhouse’s joke books, containing 25 years’ worth of gags, were famously stolen in 1995.

The comic was left devastated by their disappearance and offered a £10,000 (€14,992) reward. They were returned 18 months later.

Details of the will were made public this week.

The star left a total of £1.47 million, with the bulk of his estate going to second wife Jacqueline.

His god-daughters, Marianne Murray and Emma Jane Ismay, each received £10,000.

Monkhouse also made donations to charities including the NSPCC, RSPCA and Amnesty International.