Mystic Meg: Lancashire-born astrologer dies aged 80
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Meg – whose real name was Margaret Lake – was born in Accrington in July 1942.
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Hide AdShe was raised in a terraced house where her grandmother taught her astrology.
Household name
She studied English at the University of Leeds, and joined the News of the World as a sub-editor, eventually becoming deputy editor of its weekend colour supplement Sunday. In the 1980s she changed her name to Eileen Anderson and became the paper's regular astrologer.
In 1994 she became a household name after appearing on the National Lottery TV show, and went on to write a horoscope column for The Sun for nearly 23 years.
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Today (March 9), the newspaper reported that she had died earlier this morning after being admitted to a hospital in Paddington, London, suffering from the flu.
Her longtime agent, Dave Shapland, told The Sun: “Without any question, she was Britain’s most famous astrologer by a million miles.
“Nobody came close to Meg in that respect. She was followed by millions in this country and also around the world.
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Hide Ad“She even became part of the English language – if a politician, somebody from showbiz or ordinary people in the street are asked a tricky question they will say ‘Who do you think I am, Mystic Meg?’
“It shows what an impact she made.”
Blackpool beach
As part of a Celebrity Child’s Play book released for Children in Need in 2002, Meg spoke about holidaying in Blackpool.
In it she wrote: "My first visit to the seaside was a special day out in Blackpool to celebrate my seventh birthday. My other big present was a hand-knitted swimsuit. I was allowed to choose the colours for the wool - a clashy mixture of red and orange - and helped my granny to knit it."My grandmother (kindness itself) used to undo my dropped-stitches when I went to bed and re-knit it perfectly - such an encouraging thing to do. I was so intrigued by the sea, so proud of my perfect swimsuit until I walked into the water, then walked out again, with the knitted swimsuit absorbing the water and stretched to way below my knees."Everyone thought it was funny, and so did I - eventually. And, no, none of my fortune-telling family saw it coming."