Nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow has died in the early hours of this morning at the age of 77 after losing a secret battle with cancer.
His publicist Matt Glass issued a statement: “It’s very sad news. He passed away in the early hours of this morning.
“It was kept very private, he didn’t want to tell. He wanted to keep it a secret.”
Peter launched multiple eponymous nightclubs across the world, the most famous of which is Stringfellows in London’s West End.
A string of famous faces have partied at the Covent Garden venue since it first opened its doors in 1980.
The larger than life character was known for having an eye for the ladies, and caused controversy in 1996 when, at the age of 55, he dated a 16-year-old girl.
Peter married three times, first in 1960 to Norma, from whom he separated in 1965. He wed his second wife Coral in 1967; they divorced in 1984.
In 2009, he tied the knot with Bella, a Royal Ballet dancer.
The Sheffield-born millionaire was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, but revealed in 2015 he had beaten it.
“I couldn’t believe it when they said it was the Big C and it was lung cancer,” he said in an interview at the time.
“I’ve never smoked in my life and it’s the worst cancer you can get at my age.
“I was told if I’d waited until I had symptoms like coughing and wheezing it would have been too late to save me.”
The ‘King of Clubs’ leaves behind wife, Bella, and four children, Scott, Karen, Rosabella and Angelo.