‘Love child’ joins fight for $880m inheritance of TV king Reg Grundy
Up until now it was believed Reg Grundy only had one child with his first wife but a new case has turned that belief on its head. Legal proceedings to search for a biological sample belonging to Mr Grundy has started so a mystery man can prove he is the TV king’s son. But a lab is withholding the DNA test.
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EXCLUSIVE: A mystery man who claims he is the long lost son of the late TV king Reg Grundy has joined a court battle over his fortune, worth more than $800 million.
Simon Thomas Russell has launched legal action alongside Mr Grundy’s estranged daughter, Viola La Valette, previously Kim Grundy, for a slice of the fortune made on the back of TV hits such as Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right.
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Up until now it was believed Mr Grundy only had one child, Kim, by his first wife but the new plaintiff in the case has turned that belief on its head.
Mr Russell’s barrister Nicolas Kirby told Justice Geoff Lindsay his client had commenced the legal proceedings to search for a biological sample belonging to Mr Grundy so he could prove he was the multi-millionaire’s son.
“We have located such a sample and it is in the possession of (pathology company) Douglass Hanly Moir,” Mr Kirby said.
“My client has undergone a similar sampling process to provide his DNA and it’s now at an accredited DNA lab run by Douglass Hanly Moir.”
Mr Kirby said the lab told them that to complete the testing they needed an affidavit from the executor of Mr Grundy’s estate, his second wife actor Carolyn Joy Chambers-Grundy.
The court heard a hard copy of that affidavit is on its way to the lab via registered post from Bermuda where Ms Chambers-Grundy lives in the mansion she shared with her late husband.
“The lab is currently withholding the results until it receives the original affidavit from Ms Chambers-Grundy,” Mr Kirby said.
Mr Kirby said they expect to find out the results in the next week.
Meanwhile Ms La Valette is seeking a 23-year-old letter sent to her from her father which set out how much annuity she should receive, the court heard.
Her barrister Michael Meek SC told the court they had asked Ms Chambers-Grundy’s lawyers for the letter but they said it didn’t exist.
Mr Meek said they were now trying to find out if copies or drafts of the letter exist.
Ms La Valette began the court battle in 2017 disputing her father’s will, which made Ms Chambers-Grundy the main beneficiary of his massive estate.
Her lawyers have argued Mr Grundy was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease when he made arrangements to bequeath his fortune.
She is seeking access to documents detailing his mental state and the size of his fortune before his death in 2016.
Ms La Valette, who did not speak to her father for 22 years, is seeking tens of millions on top of the $250,000 she receives annually.
Mr Grundy was an entrepreneur and media mogul who made his name by creating numerous hit TV shows including game shows Blankety Blanks, Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right and soap operas Prisoner, Sons and Daughters, The Young Doctors and Neighbours.
The case is set down for hearing next month.
Originally published as ‘Love child’ joins fight for $880m inheritance of TV king Reg Grundy
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