Lynda Bellingham’s Sons In Bitter Dispute With Stepfather Over ‘Loose Women’ Star’s Will: ‘We’ve Been Through Hell’

Lynda Bellingham’s two sons have revealed they are caught up in a bitter dispute with their stepfather over their mother’s will.

Robbie and Michael Peluso have also hit out at Michael Pattemore for 'disrespecting their mother's memory' since her death in 2014.

Lynda, who became a household name after starring in the long-running Oxo TV ads and later as a much-loved ‘Loose Women’ panelist, died from bowel cancer 18 months ago.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Robbie and Michael revealed they are in the process of challenging their mother’s will.

They have also accused Lynda’s widower of depriving them of their inheritance, evicting them from the family home and squandering thousands from their mother’s estate.

According to Lynda's sons, the final straw came when their stepfather claimed that she had visited him from the afterlife and he had made love to her ‘ghost spirit’.

Robbie told the newspaper: “At that point I thought, ‘No. Enough is enough.’ That interview was awful, so disrespectful to my mother.

“She should be remembered for all the wonderful work she did as an actress and the inspiring courage she showed at the end of her life, not for these tacky revelations that are tarnishing the reputation she worked so hard for.

“When I read the interview about her ghost, I knew it was time to stand up for her, and give our side of everything that’s happened since my mother’s death.

“Our stepfather always says he’s close to us, but that’s not the case. We want the public to know that a lot of what they’ve been told just isn’t true.”

Michael added that they were determined to gain control over everything their mother had worked for, saying: “This isn’t about money.”

In her will, the actress left everything to her husband, who has reportedly told the boys that all of her money is tied up in properties and so is impossible to access.

They claim that neither of them had seen the will until their aunt intervened and he agreed to share it with them.

Michael said: “He sat me down and instead of giving it to me, he read it. He said ‘Everything’s been left to me, so it will go to you when I decide.’ I was sitting there crying, thinking, ‘Oh God, no.'"

Robbie added: “When he read it to me later, he actually chuckled and tried to make a joke, saying, ‘So you’d better not do anything to annoy me.’”

Michael and Robbie have since hired a legal firm to contest their mother’s will. The firm has agreed to represent them on a no-win, no-fee basis.

“We’ve been through hell,” says Michael. "The stress of what’s been happening with our stepfather has prevented us from grieving properly.

“We’ll go to court if we have to, because we need to stand up for our mother and what she wanted.”