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TV producer mugged as she got out of her car
Rob Singh, Crime Reporter11 Jun 2008
Denise O'Donoghue was robbed of nearly £100,000 worth of valuables after being held at knifepoint by smartly dressed robbers on the doorstep of her multi-million pound home in Notting Hill.
The Bafta-winning television producer and wife of philanthropist Michael Holland was ambushed outside her house after a night out with a friend last month. Her attacker stole her handbag and items of jewellery, including a £40,000 ring.
The case bears remarkable similarities to the robbery of fashion designer Nicole Farhi who was robbed at knifepoint on the doorstep of her £3 million home in Hampstead on the same evening.
Farhi, 61, had an £8,000 ring, money and her watch stolen. She was the third woman in Hampstead to be attacked.
Ms O'Donoghue, 53, was approached by two black men after she pulled up at 11pm in her drive. She was cornered by the pair as she got out of her Mini Cooper and threatened with a knife as her husband was in the house unaware of what was happening. They demanded she hand over jewellery and other valuables.
A source close to the family said: "She came back late and two guys approached her. She was forced to hand over her jewellery and her handbag. She was very shaken. Her husband was in but she was too scared to scream in case they stabbed her. She has been unable to sleep."
Ms O'Donoghue was awarded an OBE for services to television in 1999. She co-founded Hat Trick Productions with her ex-husband, comedian Jimmy Mulville, and has worked on Have I Got News For You and The Kumars At No 42. She was awarded a Bafta in 1999 for Outstanding Creative Contribution to Television.
She has been married to multi-millionaire oil shipping businessman Michael Holland for two years. He remarried after his wife Jane Attenborough, 49 - daughter of Sir Richard Attenborough - his 15-year-old daughter Lucy and mother also called Jane, 83, drowned in the tsunami in December 2004. He founded Oil Aid, which has raised millions for charities.
Police said they were not linking the robbery to the Hampstead cases.
A Met spokesman said today the bag was later found in Notting Hill. Kensington and Chelsea CID were investigating. No arrests have been made.
