TELLY’S Christine McGuinness teams up with celebrity divorce lawyer “Pitbull” in her fight for a multi-million pound settlement following her split from husband Paddy.
Model mum Christine is determined to stay in the £4million mansion she shared with former Question of Sport presenter Paddy.
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Christine McGuinness, left, turned to a ‘pitbull’ lawyer amid her divorce battle with PaddyCredit: Getty
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Catherine Bedford, left, has had a string of celebrity clients, including Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, right Credit: Splash News
Catherine Bedford, 52 — who helped pay an alleged £31m for Ant McPartlin’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong — is due to represent Christine in London on Tuesday.
A source said: “Christine really wanted to work with a woman during the divorce and Catherine is one of the best in the business.
“Christine wants to stay in the house where she has lived as a family for many years. She invested many hours of love, care and attention in it.
“It would be heartbreaking to have to leave the property after so long and uproot her life.”
READ MORE AT PADDY & CHRISTINE
Mrs. Bedford had a considerable number of celebrity clients.
The Canadian-born Faca is currently representing Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner in her divorce from American pop star Joe Jonas.
The American media described her as “Pitbull’s lawyer”.
Previous clients include Dubai’s billionaire royal Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in his bitter three-year legal battle with ex-wife Princess Haya bint Hussein.
Ms Bedford, 52, is a senior partner at top London law firm Harbottle and Lewis.
Her website states: “Depending on each client’s needs, Catherine’s approach is tailored – whether it’s successful negotiation outside of court or difficult litigation inside.”
The website also says partners charge £535 an hour, but legal sources say Ms Bedford, named Family Lawyer 2022, costs much more.
Christine, who won the Miss Liverpool title aged 18, was 19 when comedian Paddy spoke to her at a bikini fashion show in 2007.
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Christine is determined to stay in the couple’s multimillion-dollar fund. Credits: Submitted
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Paddy is best known for A Question of Sport and various other hit series Credits: BBC
They got married in 2011 and have three children — ten-year-old twins and a seven-year-old daughter.
Christine, 35, and Paddy bought their six-bedroom house in Cheshire for £2.1m in 2017.
He often appeared in their social media posts, with Christine posing in the huge garden and by the large pool.
A source said: “Christine is a working-class girl and this is her dream home. He doesn’t want to part with it.
“It’s hard enough to get through a divorce without the stress of selling the property.
“The process has been stressful and Christine just wants what she feels she deserves and to move on with her life.
“There are many happy family memories in the house. He doesn’t want to start over somewhere new.”
She and former Take Me Out and Top Gear host Paddy, 50, announced they were separating in 2022.
Since the split, Christine has been spending time with 31-year-old footballer Chelcee Grimes, going on girls’ holidays and sharing kisses at London’s Winter Wonderland.
Christine described her desire for a stable family in her autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare.
She revealed how her own upbringing was difficult, with mum Joanne struggling to make ends meet after splitting from Christine’s heroin-addicted father Johnny.
And she wrote: “I wanted to create a perfect family. I wanted mom or dad at home with the kids.
“I wanted them to be surrounded by love and laughter. Most people probably want that, but for me it was like an obsession.”
Christine, a regular cast member on ITV’s The Real Housewives of Cheshire 2019, was diagnosed with autism in August 2021.
Before the split, the couple filmed a BBC documentary called Our Family and Autism.
Christine also published a book for autistic children and their families.
Last year she starred in the BBC1 documentary Unmasking My Autism.
Paddy was in Channel 4’s Phoenix Nights in 2000, but his big break came in 2010’s Take Me Out.
Last year he filmed a pilot with the BBC for a mockumentary called Paddy – which follows his life as a comedian going through a split.
Christine declined to comment earlier this evening.
The Sun approached Paddy for comment on Sunday, along with Ms Bedford and Harbottle & Lewis.
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Christine has spoken about her autism diagnosis several times over the past few yearsCredit: BackGrid
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She and Paddy made a documentary about it together before the split Credit: Mega Agency
RISE TO RICHES
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Paddy is famous for being part of the now defunct show Top GearCredit: PA
COMEDIAN Paddy McGuinness is worth an estimated £7m after shooting to fame in a string of top TV shows.
The star shot to fame starring in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and hosting ITV dating show Take Me Out.
He took over A Question Of Sport in 2021 and was also earning £500,000 a year on Top Gear from 2018 to 2022 — but both shows on the Beeb have been shelved.
As well as his other TV jobs, he has also made money from commercials – but recently said he was going on a stand-up tour because “the money ran out”.
THE LAWYER IS TOP DOG
CATHERINE Bedford is one of the sharpest divorce lawyers in the business.
She helped Ant McPartlin’s ex Lisa Armstrong amass a reported £31m in 2020 — more than half of his estimated £50m fortune at the time.
Ms Bedford, 52, studied law at Oxford University and is now a partner at top London law firm Harbottle & Lewis where she leads the family law team.
She won the 2022 Family Law Lawyer of the Year at the Spear Wealth Management Magazine Awards.
Her company’s website states that her work “often involves high-net-worth individuals” — including CEOs, bankers, sports stars and entertainers”.
And the Legal 500 directory describes Ms Bedford as having a “frightening reputation”.
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