Hilary Devey

Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE (née Brewster; 10 March 1957 – 11 June 2022) was an English businesswoman and television personality best known for her role on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den until she left to present the Channel 4 series The Intern.

Hilary Devey

CBE
Born
Hilary Lorraine Brewster

(1957-03-10)10 March 1957
Bolton, Lancashire, England
Died11 June 2022(2022-06-11) (aged 65)
Marrakesh, Morocco
Occupation(s)Television personality, businesswoman
Employer(s)Channel 4 (most recent)
BBC (former)
Known for
TitleCEO and chairman of Pall-Ex Group[1]
Term1996–2022
Spouses
  • Malcolm Sharples
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1976; div. 1978)​
  • Ed Devey
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2003; div. 2008)​
    [2]
  • Philip Childs
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2011; div. 2013)​
Children1
Websitewww.hilarydevey.com

Early life

Devey was born Hilary Lorraine Brewster on 10 March 1957, in Bolton, Lancashire.[3] As a seven-year-old child, she witnessed the results of the bankruptcy of her father, who had owned a central heating company, when bailiffs removed furniture and household goods from the family home. Her father then earned a living managing pubs and hotels. She left school at the age of sixteen, and served for a short while in the Women's Royal Air Force, in air traffic control and the supply accounts department; she was stationed at RAF Brize Norton. Devey later moved to London.[4][5]

Career

Business

Devey made her fortune launching Pall-Ex, a palletised freight network. Launched in 1996, Pall-Ex was the third palletised goods distribution network to be launched in the UK. It was based on the well-established hub-and-spoke express parcels distribution model: this form of pallet network was pioneered by Palletline in 1992.

Pall-Ex handles around 8,000 palletised consignments through its Leicestershire hub each day and has over 90 network members. In 2021 it had a turnover of £92.1 million, compared with £76.6 million in 2020. In 2021 gross profits were £10.9 million.[6]

Television

Devey featured in several television programmes, including The Secret Millionaire in 2008, in which she donated more than £70,000 to the Back Door Music Project and the Syke Community Centre in Rochdale.[7] In March 2010, she was the presenter of The Business Inspector for Channel 5, a four-part documentary series which saw her use her business acumen and expertise to help transform struggling small businesses into successful profitable companies.[8]

In February 2011, Devey joined the panel of the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den following the departure of James Caan. Devey later announced that she would be leaving the series in June 2012, as she had signed an exclusive two-year agreement with Channel 4.[9]

In September 2012, Devey presented her final programme for BBC Two, a mini-series called Hilary Devey's Women at the Top, a joint Open University and BBC Two production.[10]

In April 2013, after moving to Channel 4, Devey began hosting a new series, The Intern, a business documentary in which Devey gave three young interns a week's trial in the job of their dreams. The first three episodes were aired in the Thursday 9 pm time slot, but the final three episodes were broadcast on Wednesday nights at the later time of 11 pm, due to a significant drop in ratings.[11]

On 3 April 2014, Devey announced that she would host a new Channel 4 programme, which began filming in June 2014. The show, named Running the Shop, began airing on Channel 4 on 9 June 2015.[12]

On 18 June 2015, Devey made her debut as a guest panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women, and became an occasional panellist on 4 September that year. However, she departed the show on 9 November.[13]

Awards

Devey was awarded the Vitalise Woman of the Year Award in 2008,[14] and an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Leicester in 2010 for her services to industry.[15] Other UK domestic awards have included the Sir Robert Lawrence Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2009 and the Personality of the Year in the International Freight Weekly Awards for 2010.[16]

In July 2012, Devey was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration by the University of Bolton, for services to business.[17]

Devey was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in the 2013 Birthday Honours, for services to the transport industry and charity.[18][19]

On 16 April 2014, Devey was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Wolverhampton.[20]

Devey was an ambassador of the British Citizen Awards, a ceremony held bi-annually to reward everyday individuals and their contribution to society.[21]

Personal life

Devey previously lived near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, but then relocated to Boylestone in Derbyshire. She also had a house in London and villas in Morocco, Spain, and Boca Raton, Florida, and for a time, owned a mansion in the state, which she sold in 2014 for £5.42 million.[22] She was married and divorced three times.[3][2] She also had a son named Mevlit, who she said in 2013 had successfully overcome drug addiction.[23]

Devey was a Bolton Wanderers supporter[24] and a fan of rock band Status Quo.[25]

On 28 October 2012, whilst on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Devey shared a story about her mother's discovery, years into her relationship with Devey's father, that he already had a wife and four children. Devey also discovered that her ex-partner was also already married with five children.[2]

Charity

Devey campaigned for various charities, including Carers Trust, of which she became vice-president in 2012. She donated to charity one penny for each pallet distributed by the Pall-Ex network through her 'Penny a Pallet' scheme.[26] She also supported the Stroke Association, for which she became a patron in 2010.[27]

Death

On 11 June 2022, Devey died at her holiday home in Marrakesh, Morocco, following a long illness, aged 65.[28][29][30] Tributes were paid by her former Dragons' Den co-stars Theo Paphitis, who said Devey "left [them] with some fantastic memories, may she rest in peace", Duncan Bannatyne, who tweeted he was sad to hear of her passing, noting that Devey had died "too young", and Deborah Meaden, who described her as "unique in every way", adding that she "brought grit and warmth with her into the den."[31]

Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Channel
2008 The Secret Millionaire A Secret Millionaire[32] Channel 4
2010 The Business Inspector Presenter[33] Channel 5
2011–2012 Dragons' Den Dragon[34] BBC Two
2012 Hilary Devey's Women at the Top Presenter[35]
Hotel GB Hotel Shop Manager[36] Channel 4
2013 The Intern Presenter[37]
2015 Running the Shop Presenter[38]
Loose Women Regular panellist[39] ITV
Guest appearances

Books
  • Bold as Brass: My Story (2012), London, Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-230-76593-1[46]

References
  1. "Hilary Devey CBE, Award winning Entrepreneur". Hilary Devey.
  2. "Hilary Devey on Radio 4 Desert Island Discs". BBC. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  3. "Hilary Devey obituary". the Guardian. 13 June 2022.
  4. Hilary Devey (2012). Bold As Brass: My Story. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-76593-1.
  5. Radio Times, 30 July–5 August 2011
  6. "PALL-EX (U.K.) LIMITED – Filing history: see "Full accounts made up to 31 July 2021"". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  7. Needham, Lucy; Blosse, Benjamin (12 June 2022). "Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies at 65". Manchester Evening News.
  8. "TV Shows".
  9. Hurley, James (31 July 2011). "Hilary Devey replaces James Caan on Dragon's Den". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ""Hilary Devey's Women at the Top" at bbc.co.uk". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  11. "The Intern doesn't do the job for Channel 4 | TV ratings | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. 12 April 2013.
  12. "Hilary Devey CBE on Twitter: "Incredibly excited about my new TV series. Start filming in June."". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  13. Percival, Ash (12 June 2022). "Dragons' Den Entrepreneur Hilary Devey Dies, Aged 65". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  14. "Secret Millionaire Hilary Devey wins the prestigious Vitalise Businesswoman of the Year award 2008". Ukpreneur. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  15. "Honorary degrees, July 2010: no.1 Hilary Devey". University of Leicester. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  16. "Queen's birthday honour for Hilary Devey". 17 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. "Dragon' Hilary honoured at hometown university". The Bolton News. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  18. "No. 60534". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 7.
  19. "Birthday Honours: Adele joins Blackadder stars on list". BBC News. 14 June 2013.
  20. University of Wolverhampton. "Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration". University of Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014.
  21. "Endorsements".
  22. Cumming, Ed (3 April 2014). "Dragon's Den: Hilary Devey's Florida mansion for sale". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014.
  23. "'Dragons' Den' star Hilary Devey on business success and personal regrets". Hello!. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  24. "Whites fans are feeling pressure "Whites fans are feeling pressure" at theboltonnews.co.uk". The Bolton News. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  25. Rainbird, Ashleigh (26 December 2016). "Rocker Rick Parfitt's wife cared for him until the day he died". Daily Record.
  26. Moya, Elena (22 October 2010). "Can Hilary Devey drive a truck? The Pall-Ex founder can certainly drive a freight revolution". The Guardian (UK). London. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  27. "Stroke Association, Hilary Devey". Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  28. Obituaries, Telegraph (13 June 2022). "Hilary Devey, award winning haulage entrepreneur who became a star of Dragon's Den – obituary". The Daily Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  29. "Former Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies aged 65". the Guardian. 12 June 2022.
  30. "'Truly one of a kind': Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden pay tribute to former Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey after her death aged 65". Sky News. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  31. "Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies aged 65". BBC News. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  32. "Secret millionaire revealed | The Bolton News". www.theboltonnews.co.uk.
  33. "Hilary Devey is 'The Business Inspector' on Five". www.speakerscorner.co.uk.
  34. "Former Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies aged 65 after long illness". Sky News.
  35. "BBC Two – Hilary Devey's Women at the Top, Episode 1". BBC.
  36. "Hotel GB". Channel 4. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  37. "Former Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies aged 65". York Press.
  38. "Running the Shop review – 'stuffed to the brim with tedious fake peril' | Reality TV | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
  39. "Former Dragons' Den star Hilary Devey dies aged 65". Evesham Journal.
  40. "BBC One – Room 101 – Extra Storage, Series 1, Episode 5". BBC.
  41. "Hilary Devey wins big for Carers Trust on Million Pound Drop". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  42. "Hilary Devey and Greg James win £25,000 on TV show". The Bolton News. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  43. "Celebrity Fifteen to One". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  44. Guide, British Comedy. "Through The Keyhole Series 2, Episode 6". British Comedy Guide.
  45. Guide, British Comedy. "Safeword Series 1, Episode 7". British Comedy Guide.
  46. "'Bold as Brass: My Story' at panmacmillan.com". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
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