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Ask a million Brits an impossible question and you’ll likely get the same response: ‘Who do you think I am love… Mystic Meg?!’
With her jet black bob, snow white complexion and bright red lipstick – often paired with a cape – the iconic astrologer certainly knew how to market herself.
And after four decades in the business, including her iconic National Lottery appearances, brand deals and wildly popular columns, the soothsayer’s name is now firmly synonymous with seeing into the future.
But reading the stars – and becoming a star – wasn’t always on the cards for the ‘seer’, who passed away at 80 years old on Thursday following a short illness – weeks after being hospitalised with the flu.
Meg, real name Margaret Lake, who was of Romany descent, was born in a maternity home in Lancashire in 1942 and grew up in a terraced house in Accrington.
Her Russian gypsy grandmother – who taught her astrology – believed Meg had a ‘talent’ to predict the future, and gifted her the famous crystal ball that would become integral to her readings.
With her jet black bob, snow white complexion and bright red lipstick – often paired with a cape – the iconic astrologer certainly knew how to market herself
National Lottery presenters, (left to right front row) Frank Bruno, Bob Monkhouse and Mystic Meg, celebrating the 100th jackpot draw with past winners (back left to right) Bob Westland (£3.7m), Ken Southwell (£900,000), Elaine Thompson (£2.7m), Peter Lavery (£10.2m) and Karl Crompton (£10.9m)
Meg (pictured as a student) studied English at the University of Leeds and joined the now defunct News Of The World newspaper as a sub-editor, before eventually becoming deputy editor of its weekend supplement Sunday
The ball would gather dust, however, before taking centre stage, as Meg had set her sights on becoming a teacher, and after studying English at the University of Leeds, earned her teaching diploma.
But the fickle hand of fate had other plans for Meg, and she joined the now defunct News Of The World newspaper as a sub-editor, before climbing the ranks to become deputy editor of its weekend supplement, called Sunday.
She would make the shift to horoscopes in the 1980s, when she changed her name to Meg Markova and became the paper’s astrologer – later rebranding as Mystic Meg.
But according to accounts from former colleagues, Meg was just as mysterious behind the scenes as she was on screen.
Freelance photographer David Porter, who shot the promotional material for her column, once recalled in the Deptford Pudding blog: ‘She hardly ever spoke, and when she did it was in a strange whispered monotone.
‘She had the whitest skin I’d ever seen, and seemed to glide silently around the office without touching the floor.’
Meg had hand-selected David to take the pictures, which saw her pose with her crystal ball, a black cat and a landline telephone that was covered in stickers of stars and moons.
He added: ‘I thought it was a bit naff, but the picture editor told me the telephone was very important. This was the early days of premium telephone lines, and there were fortunes to be made.’
Meg appeared in a series of adverts for the soft drink Oasis in the 1990s and in 2015 was the face of the Grand National’s ‘You’re Guaranteed a Fortune’ campaign
Meg, pictured here in a riding competition as a child, was an animal lover and owned at least three racehorses
And made they were. Meg’s phone was ringing off the hook when she launched her phone-line readings in 1989.
Her service broke all BT records and she quickly became the most successful phone-line astrologer in the world.
The success caught the eye of the National Lottery – who she knew would come her way, she later claimed.
The strict vegan – who never smoked or touched alcohol – would start each morning with a cup of hot water and the Racing Post, before drawing a rune to predict what would happen that day.
‘Just before the Lottery started, I got the big money rune,’ she previously told the New Statesman.
‘On that same day, I got a call from National Lottery Live, asking me to make a prediction on the first show. So the runes were right, though the big money was for other people! The prediction I made came true, so I was asked back.’
From 1994, each Saturday night the ‘seer’ would emerge from a cloud of smoke and stare into her crystal ball to predict who would win the jackpot.
Her 45-second segment attracted a large legion of loyal fans, some more avid than others.
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The late stargazer added: ‘My most vivid memory of the Lottery is when I was doing my prediction to camera, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a naked man running towards me. The security guard caught him inches before he got in front of the camera. Painted on his back were the words ”Pick my balls”.’
Her regular spot was dropped by the BBC in a programme shake-up in 1997 but the following year she made a comeback for a sketch alongside presenter Bradley Walsh. In the sketch, Walsh’s brother Del, who runs a market stall, tries to convince Meg of his own fortune-telling method – frying sausages.
Andi Peters and Mystic Meg on stage at the Live and Kicking Red Nose Awards show broadcast in 1995
Meg grew up in a terraced house in Accrington, where she was taught astrology by her Russian gypsy grandmother – although becoming a soothsayer was not her immediate career choice
Over the years she also released a number of books including Mystic Meg’s Astrolife and Mystic Meg’s Lucky Numbers For Love Life And The Lottery (Pictured: Bob Monkhouse and Mystic Meg)
Away from the glitz of Saturday night TV, Meg was known to be concerned about her figure and wrinkles – heading to the gym four times a week ‘to keep her clairvoyant powers strong.’
She once told the Lancashire Telegraph: ‘I take a multi-vitamin, vitamin E, wild yam capsules and co-enzyme Q10. I also take herbal drops, echinacea to boost the immune system and gingko biloba to protect the memory.
‘For the last 10 years, my weight has been eight stone. I am glad my weight is in the normal, healthy range for my height… like many people, I always intend to start going to the gym again.
‘I try to stay with a vegan style of eating and… try to avoid all animal products. I think about nutrition. I’ve noticed that when I visit vegetarian shops, none of the customers are overweight.’
Meg lived alone in a three-bedroom apartment in Notting Hill, north London, with her seven cats – who she once said ‘found her and moved in’.
Her plans for marriage had ended in tragedy when the ‘love of her life’ was killed in in a horror car crash in the south of France in 1977.
Nigel Moores – heir to the Littlewoods retail empire – was thrown from the passenger side of a Land Rover as the vehicle somersaulted and burst into flames on a road near Marseilles.
It was a cruel twist of fate after a horoscope reading when Meg was just seven predicted she would be betrothed to a wealthy man. Mr Moores was worth £9million when he died aged 39.
But Meg certainly made enough money of her own through her work, which included multiple brand deals over the years.
She appeared in a series of adverts for the soft drink Oasis in the 1990s and in 2015 was the face of the Grand National’s ‘You’re Guaranteed a Fortune’ campaign.
The animal lover had a keen interest in horses and owned at least three racehorses – which she fittingly named Astrodonna, Astroangel and Astronova, after celestial beings.
In her practice, she worked with runes, crystal balls, I Ching, tarot and numerology. Over the years she also released a number of books including Mystic Meg’s Astrolife and Mystic Meg’s Lucky Numbers For Love Life And The Lottery.
A previous Lotto roll-over winner credited Meg with prompting her to check her ticket after she had hidden it in a biscuit tin next to her bed.
According to astrological charts, Mystic Meg’s star sign was a Leo. In her practice, she worked with runes, crystal balls, I Ching, tarot and numerology
Meg appeared in a series of adverts for the soft drink Oasis (pictured) in the 1990s and in 2015 was the face of the Grand National’s ‘You’re Guaranteed a Fortune’ campaign
After mother-of-four Mary Jones from Gwynedd, North Wales, won £9.3 million in 2004 she said: ‘I read Mystic Meg in The Sun and it said don’t forget to check your lottery ticket. I couldn’t believe it when I realised it had come true.’
The astrologer also thanked her lucky stars after she predicted that the racehorse Optimistic would win for her at a prestigious York meeting in 1997.
Mystic Meg is so embedded into the fabric of British culture that she is now listed in the Longman’s dictionary of modern English, as ‘a British clairvoyant’.
Tributes have poured in for the star following her death at 3.45am this morning, as she was branded ‘a charming lady’ and ‘Britain’s most famous astrologer’.
The final horoscope reading for Meg, who is a Leo, might offer a silver lining – at least for those who believe in a world after death, as it points to a reunion with her big love Mr Moores.
Published today, it reads: ‘It can be the most routine of routine journeys that takes you towards your soulmate – and you may not realise this straight away.’
