Entertainer Paul Daniels left an estate worth just under £500,000, after debts and costs of more than £1 million.

The magician died of cancer in mid-March with his wife Debbie McGee by his side.

The 77-year-old had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in February.

He left the bulk of his UK estate to McGee, according to his will.

The gross value was more than £1.5 million, but the net value amounted to just under £500,000, the document, one of millions of wills stored and digitised by Iron Mountain on behalf of the courts and tribunals service, shows.

He and McGee, who had also worked as his assistant, were married for 28 years.

In an interview with the Guardian in 2014, he recalled advising his future wife in the early days that their 20-year age gap may prove controversial.

He said: “We dated a little, but she was far too young.

“I said: ‘Those nasty people called journalists will shred you, call you a gold-digger. Find someone your own age.’”

After his death, McGee said she was comforted by their long-lasting love, and told how they spent their last days together in the garden, eating Magnum ice-creams and watching television.