Psychic TV poet known as 'The Cockney Bard' is locked in inheritance row with younger sister and daughter after he and three siblings were cut out of father's £450,000 will

Published: 12:19, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 12:24, 9 June 2026 A psychic television poet is locked in an inheritance row with his younger sister and niece after he and three other siblings were cut out of their father's will.  Gary Pammen, also known as 'The Cockney Bard', claims his father Terrance Pammen was mentally confused when he drew up his inheritance plan a decade ago.  Terrance died aged 83 in May 2022 and left his £451,840 estate - mostly tied up in his £440,000 Stratford home - almost entirely to his daughter Tracy Pammen and her daughter Paige Pammen. Gary is now asking a Judge to have the will declared invalid on grounds that his father lacked the 'testamentary capacity' and did not 'know and approve' its contents.  The author, who has appeared on the BBC, ITV and Sky, has spoken in the past of his strange ability to produce poetry inspired by mysterious spirits from another place or time. He also believes he has powers of healing and second sight.  Tracy and Paige however insist that their father was 'totally sharp' when he drew up the will, and held firm views about how he would leave his estate.  Excluded from everything other than a 'few worthless chattels' alongside Gary were his other siblings, Mark, Jacqueline and Gemma, though none of them are parties in the litigation.  Gary, 65, says he spoke to Terrance every day before his death, and told reporters outside London County Court that there was no clear reason why he was disinherited. Psychiatric poet Gary Pammen, 65, also known as 'The Cockney Bard', is locked in an inheritance row after he was excluded from his father's £450,000 will Terrance Pammen left almost the entirety of his estate to the his daughter Tracy Pammen (right) and her daughter Paige Pammen (left) It is also alleged by Gary that Terrance's will was drawn up when he 'was suffering from documented cognitive and progressive impairment, alongside profound confusion regarding his family relations and the extent of his estate'.  He claims Tracy - who he says he 'still loves despite everything that's gone on' - 'raided' their dad's bank accounts in his final years, an allegation which she and her lawyers dismissed as nonsense. Defending the will, Tracy pointed out that her father was still working on the trolleys at Morrisons when he drew up the plan - and carried on doing so for up to three years afterwards. And brushing aside Gary's accusations, her barrister, Tom Gosling, said there were 'no real doubts' about Terrance's ability to grasp what he was doing when he initiated the will-drafting process in 2016 - with no involvement from any family member. Expert evidence from a psychiatrist had also confirmed that Terrance was of sound mind, the barrister added. And while accepting that Terrance was ultimately diagnosed with dementia in 2020, he displayed no signs of a failing memory until 2017 or 2018, said Mr Gosling. He told the court: 'The will represents the culmination of considered and deliberate independent thought and effort on the part of the deceased. 'He independently managed his own financial affairs and he understood the extent of his property in that he was able to independently and accurately recall and report...the property, a single bank account and its balance. 'The deceased was able to appreciate the claims of potential beneficiaries on his estate in that he recalled the names of each of the children, dates of birth, addresses and the fact that each of them had children and their approximate ages. 'There is no explanation offered or evidential basis advanced by Gary as to the existence of any additional claims by which it is said Terrance should have or was bound to give greater provision in favour of Gary or the other children.' Terrance had 'lived independently' at home until the last year of his life, cooked his own food, handled his own finances and 'worked as a trolley assistant at Morrisons Supermarket each morning, five days a week, until June 2019', said Mr Gosling. Gary, however, claims that Tracy 'raided' Terrance's bank account in his final years - leaving a gaping hole in his wallet. He also says that there was also no provision in the will made for one of his grandsons, who is vulnerable due to Down's Syndrome and was much loved by Terrance.  'You say that money went missing from his account and you think that it was Tracy and Paige - or just Tracy - who stole it,' said Judge Monty as he sketched out Gary's case in court. Under cross-examination by her older brother, Tracy insisted in the witness box that their father was mentally sharp until his final years, living independently until February 2022 when he suffered a stroke. 'I don't agree that he had confusion,' she told the court, adding that she had visited him daily for stints of up to three hours and took him on shopping and social trips. And rejecting claims that she plundered her dad's finances, Tracy added that the only thing she ever did was to use his bank card to buy essentials such as toiletries for him. Her daughter Paige echoed the claim that her grandfather was clear-minded when he made his will, explaining that the avid horse racing fan was happy looking after himself and watching classic movies on TV - also having the occasional 'flutter' with a maximum £3 bet. 'Until shortly before he died he was doing everything for himself,' she told the court. Questioned by Gary about why Terrance would have cut out four of his children as well as his vulnerable grandson, Paige replied: 'He knew that he would be cared for by us. That's why he left all this to me and my mother because he knew we would be responsible for him.' The judge has now reserved his ruling in the case to be given at a later date. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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