Inside Lee Evans’ huge fortune & life in Essex countryside with wife Heather – 10 years after he quit comedy career
COMEDIAN Lee Evans is living the quiet life in the country after raking in a fortune as one of Britain’s best-known stand-ups in the 90s.
It comes after Lee, 59, made his first public appearance with his wife Heather Nudds in five years on Tuesday.
The stand-up comic initially stepped away from the spotlight in 2014, explaining he wanted to spend more time with his wife and their daughter Mollie.
Lee may have quit fame nearly 10 years ago but the star is still living the life of luxury after amassing a huge net worth of £6m.
Essex home
The funnyman now resides in Billericay, Essex, which is home to host of other famous faces.
One resident previously told Essex Live: ‘It’s famous in the area for it’s high house prices and the quality of the houses and I’m sure there are plenty of famous faces down there.’
He has also swapped touring for a rather different career path.
Lee and Heather went onto manage a property business, which was set up in 2012, but according to Companies House, was liquidated in 2021.
Huge fortune
The actor has worked on a number of projects throughout his 30 year career, so it’s no surprise that his net worth of around £6.1m, according The Richest.
While his production company, Little Mo Films Ltd, also amassed £229,000 in net assets, according to Companies House in April 2023.
The company were involved in all of Lee’s stand-up DVDs from his tours, including his latest tour Monsters in 2014.
Lee is one of the UK’s most successful comedians with his tours regularly breaking records.
His 2008 tour saw him perform to over 500,000 fans across 59 dates while the DVD of the Big tour sold a whopping 1million copies at the time.
He then went one better during his 67-date UK Roadrunner tour, which sold 733,000 tickets and 911,000 DVDs netting his a reported £12.9million.
He also starred in a host of movies, including mega hit The Fifth Element and There’s Something About Mary.
Retirement
In 2014, Lee confirmed his retirement from stand-up comedy during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
He said at the time: “I am knackered. This is it. Finished. Not doing anything.”
He cited the passing of his manager Addison Cresswell aged 53 from a heart attack in 2013 as one of the reasons he was quitting.
“Well my manager died last year,” Lee added. “Yeah, sorry to get serious. I’m not an ambitious person.
“People asked me to do a film, so I did a film. You asked me to come on here, I came on here. I didn’t ask.
“Addison used to put his arm around me and said, ‘It’ll all be alright,
I’ll look after you.’ It happens in life. People pass away.
“Doing these arenas, it’s been humbling. We have a great laugh (together, with the audience). It’s really important, because it doesn’t last long.”
Family life
The acclaimed comedian said that he was going to use his time to focus on his family.
He shared: “I wanna be there. I’ve always said to Little Mo, ‘I’m sorry I can’t go to the school play cos’ I’ve got to do this work.’
“Now I can go: ‘Yeah let’s go and do the stuff we never did.'”
Lee added: “So this is it. I’m going to go see my wife, give her a big hug, and tell her ‘I’m yours.’ And in a week she’ll say: ‘Get out! You’re getting on my nerves!’
“(Addressing his wife) I’m really sorry. I’m always away. I’m a nightmare to live with because I’m always working.
“I’ve come to a junction in my life — please forgive me, it sounds very
narcissistic — but plays, musicals, films and stand-up. You get to a point when you go ‘I don’t know what else to do.'”
But Lee has also suffered some harder times when he tragically lost his father Dave in 2019.
Dave also enjoyed a career in comedy but was reportedly unable to perform for seven years due to health problems.
Rare appearances
On Tuesday Lee and Heather were pictured together on a public outing for the first time in five years.
The pair enjoyed an evening out at Covent Garden restaurant The Delaunay on Tuesday.
Lee looked smart in a grey suit, teamed with a light blue shirt and a pair of canvas trainers.
While Heather looked classy in a red and black abstract midi dress, cream blazer and a pink quilted shoulder bag.
The nineties star has largely shunned the spotlight for the past ten years in favour of a quiet life with his family.
He was last pictured in 2021 riding his electric bike in Essex.
The star was snapped wearing a New York Yankees cap, shades, a cycling top and workman’s trousers for his journey on a pricey £1,599 Volt bike.
It was the first time Lee had been pictured since September 2020 when he was pictured jogging in an orange Under Armour top and Adidas bottoms.