Lord of Rings voice coach’s two wives at war for £100,000

Andrew Jack, who worked on films in the Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars series, died from Covid-19 in March 2020, aged 76. At the time of his death, he was married to Australian voice coach Gabrielle Rogers, but had only recently divorced his British ex, Paula Jack. Now the two are fighting over who gets his £100,000 insurance payout, with Ms Jack claiming his marriage to Ms Rogers was on the rocks by the time he died.

She claims that was why he never made his new wife the beneficiary under the policy.

But Ms Rogers insisted that is “an unjust and unfair smear on their relationship” and that they were “very much in love” right up until his death.

Last week, in an attempt to draw a line under the bitter dispute, a judge at the High Court in London appointed two independent trustees to decide who receives the six-figure payout.

But he said it could still end in a drawn-out court fight if either party disagrees with what the new trustees decide.

Ms Jack, of Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, was the trustee and “default beneficiary” of her ex-husband’s life insurance windfall, with the policy having been drawn up in 2011 when they were still together.

But widow Ms Rogers qualifies as a “potential beneficiary” under the policy because she was his spouse at death.

Mr Jack, originally from Finchley, north London, worked on more than 80 movies as a voice coach.

He won acclaim for his work as a dialect teacher on The Lord Of The Rings films, helping stars Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom and Christopher Lee.

He worked on four Star Wars films, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and many other blockbusters.