TV cooking star and hunting supporter Clarissa Dickson Wright has died aged 66.

Miss Dickson Wright, who had been “unwell for some time” according to her agent, had stayed in Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary since January.

She died on Saturday (15 March).

The former barrister was an outspoken campaigner for rural life and supported the Countryside Alliance. She claimed that the BBC dropped her controversial series, Clarissa and the Countryman, in 2003 for being too pro-hunting and upsetting the then prime minister Tony Blair.

She was prosecuted for hare coursing alongside trainer Sir Mark Prescott in 2007. They were both absolutely discharged after pleading guilty at Scarborough Magistrates Court in 2009, with the judge ruling that the interpretation of the Hunting Act was unclear at the time of the offence.

At 21, Miss Dickson Wright — most famous for starring in the BBC Two cooking series Two Fat Ladies with the late Jennifer Paterson — became the youngest barrister to be called to the bar. But that career came to an end due to a well-documented battle with alcohol, after which she moved into the catering industry. She had been tee-total for nearly 27 years.

She also starred as a gamekeeper in an episode of sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

Her agent said in a statement: “Loved dearly by her friends and many fans, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her personal cost.

“Her fun and laughter, extraordinary learning and intelligence, will be missed always.”

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Celebrity cook and hunting supporter Clarissa Dickson Wright has been approached by Hollywood about turning her life story in a film — and she is keen for Gwyneth Paltrow to play her, she has revealed.

The former “Fat Lady” says the call about her autobiography Spilling The Beans came as a surprise.

“Obviously I’ve thought about who would play me and it would definitely have to be Meryl Streep and maybe Gwyneth Paltrow could play me in my younger days,” she told the Yorkshire Post newspaper.

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Celebrity cook Clarissa Dickson-Wright and successful racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott have been absolutely discharged after pleading guilty to hare coursing at Scarborough Magistrates Court.

The prosecution was brought by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) after the pair admitted attending an event organised by the Yorkshire Greyhound Field Trialling Club (YGFTC) on 2 and 3 March 2007.

The YGFTC believed the hare coursing event, carried out across two days in North Yorkshire at Nunnington and Amotherby, was legal as the greyhounds were muzzled.

John Cooper, prosecuting for the IFAW, said: “The dogs were muzzled but that does not stop the damage and harm to the wildlife they chase and harry, simply because they are muzzled.”

Neither Dickson-Wright nor Sir Mark appeared in court on 1 September.

An absolute discharge means that although they were guilty of the offence the judge decided not to fine them or award any costs against them.

Judge Harrison said she showed leniency to the defendents because at the time of the offence in March 2007 interpretation of the Hunting Act was unclear.

She said: “But if anyone should do something like this again they could be dealt with very harshly because it is quite clear now. I do not want anyone to be under any illusion they can get around what Parliament has set out.”

In July three times champion jump trainer Peter Easterby and Major John Shaw were found guilty of allowing the event to go ahead on their land but Judge Harrison also discharged them absolutely.

Dickson-Wright rose to fame as a celebrity TV chef as one of the Two Fat Ladies along with the now deceased Jennifer Paterson.

Brought up by her Australian heiress mother and doctor father, surgeon to the Royal family and who also had a drink problem, she’s lived a self-confessed colourful life.

Sir Mark Prescott has trained over 1,300 winners including Confidential Lady and Wizard King. His Heath House stables in Newmarket retains Seb Sanders, joint champion jockey in 2007.

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The prosecution of former champion racehorse trainer Peter Easterby and farmer John Shaw for allowing hare coursing to take place on their land ended today (29 July) with both defendants granted an absolute discharge.

No fine or costs was awarded against either man at Scarborough Magistrates Court.

Three other defendants — Elizabeth Dixon, 44, of Appleton-le-Street, near Malton, who was accused of facilitating the event and Andrew Lund-Watkinson, 56, of Pine View Lodge, Newton-on-Rawcliffe, and Jacqueline Teal, 42, of Scarborough Road, Norton, who were both accused of attending the event, had all charges against them dropped shortly before the trial on Monday (27 July).

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) campaigners Joe Hashman and Michelle Bryan brought video evidence to the court which they had filmed undercover at an event hosted by the Yorkshire Greyhound Field Training Club Mr Easterby and Mr Shaw’s land on 2-3 March 2007.

The court heard Mr Hashman used binoculars with an inbuilt camera to record what he said was hare coursing. The defendants’ claimed no coursing took place.

District judge Christina Harrison found that the activities of the Yorkshire Greyhound Field Trial Club on Mr Easterby and Mr Shaw’s land on 2-3 March 2007 were illegal coursing as defined by the Hunting Act 2004.

And despite agreeing that Mr Shaw and Mr Easterby had only given permission for the land to be used for legal activity she had to convict the pair under the Act and gave them the most lenient sentence possible.

The judge commented: “…there is no doubt; however that everyone has had extreme difficulty in interpreting what parliament meant [by the Hunting Act]”

Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart said: “This extraordinarily pointless prosecution is yet another example of why the Hunting Act must be repealed.

“To drag two people, who, as the judge made perfectly clear had no intention of breaking the law, through this prosecution for two and a half years is an utter waste of public funds, as well as the time of vital and overstretched resources such as the police force, Crown Prosecution Service and the Court.

“More importantly, two people who have done absolutely nothing wrong are now apparently criminals in the eye of the law.”

Under the wording of the Hunting Act every person who attended the event, including the two IFAW antis, could be accused of hare coursing, even if they were not aware anything illegal had taken place.

A private prosecution against celebrity cook Clarissa Dickson Wright and racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott who were also at the event is to be heard at Scarborough on September 1.

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Hunting campaigner and star of Two Fat Ladies, Clarissa Dickson-Wright, and British journalist Janet Street-Porter will go head to head for the Countryside Alliance’s Rural Hero of 2008 award.

The award, to be announced at the House of Lords reception on 18 March, celebrates skill, produce, traditions and enterprise of the Clari countryside.

Clarissa, of TV show Clarissa and the Countrymen has been described by Countryside Alliance awards director Jill Grieve as a fearless champion of the rural way of life.

Jill said: “Clarissa has been one of hunting’s most vocal supporters throughout the on-going hunting campaign.”

Outspoken Janet’s courageous support of British veal on the TV show “The F Word’ attracted voter-attention, whilst apparently boosting sales of the meat in Waitrose, by 45%.

Jill said: “Janet’s constant no-nonsense support of our food sector through her column in the Independent is much needed and very refreshing.”

Hertfordshire-based farmer, Ian Pigott, and chairman of the Tockwith Show, Les Wake, were also announced as potential heroes.

Jill described Ian’s Open Farm Sunday — a national event that opens the countryside up to a whole new audience and promotes farming in an accessible way — as a summer must-do,

Whilst branding Les’s Youth committee as essential in retaining farming’s heritage.

This is the first year that the Rural Hero category has appeared in the annual awards.

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TV cook Clarissa Dickson Wright and racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott will appear at Scarborough Magistrates Court in August to face charges of hunting with dogs and attending a hare coursing event.

Miss Dickson Wright and Sir Mark, along with five other people, are being privately prosecuted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) following two allegedly illegal hare coursing events in North Yorkshire in March 2008.

They deny the charges against them.

The other five defendants — including racehorse trainer Peter Easterby (79), who also denies the charges against him — are to be tried on 27 July.

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Seven defendants — including former racehorse trainer Peter Easterby, trainer Sir Mark Prescott and the TV cook Clarissa Dickson Wright — are to be tried at Scarborough Magistrates Court next April for alleged illegal hare-coursing.

Miss Dickson Wright and Sir Mark are being prosecuted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), whereas charges against the other five defendants, including Mr Easterby, are being brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The charges are said to refer to two events at Helmsley and Malton in North Yorkshire on March 2 and 3.

All of the accused deny the allegations made against them.

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