TV ANTIQUES star Tim Hogarth has written a book about Britain’s forgotten reality superstar Lady Docker.

Tim, who grew up in Haworth, took a break from ITV1 shows like Dickinson’s Real Deal and Secret Dealers to write the “high-rolling” biography The Dazzling Lady Docker.

His publishing debut focuses on a woman whose exploits, along with those of her husband Sir Bernard, dominated the headlines during the 1940s and 1950s.

A post-war Kim Kardashian or Meghan Markle, her activities inspired a northern putdown for women who had ideas above their station: “Who Do You Think You Are? Lady Docker?”.

Following extensive research, Tim takes readers deep into the tumultuous life of Norah Docker, who he describes as “an epic legend in her own right”.

She rivalled Queen Elizabeth II in the media spotlight, for an extravagant lifestyle that included castles, superyachts, getting banned from Monaco and spending money by the minute.

Born over a butcher’s shop in Derby, Norah Docker enjoyed a level of fame second only to a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

She and Sir Bernard, her third millionaire husband in a row, owned a superyacht, a castle and country estates.

Tim said: “It couldn’t last of course, and didn’t, but what waves this working class girl made en route from rags to riches and back again.

“From the Bright Young Things of London’s Roaring Twenties to their swinging equivalents in the 1960s, the adventures of Lady Norah Docker are a dazzling treat.”_

Tim, who now lives in Bradford and has a shop in the city, said: “But who was she really? And how did she end up dying penniless, in a cheap London hotel room?

“I wanted to ensure she stayed front-and-centre in British history and culture, just as she would have wanted. The story deserves to be preserved forever.”

Tim said Norah was born into a working-class family, then amassed a fortune valued at £3 billion in today’s money.

He said: “She and Sir Bernard caught the imagination of a public hungry for frivolity, reality superstars of the age and standard bearers for our own celebrity-obsessed 21st century.

“She had to drastically cut back on her lifestyle after Sir Bernard was fired as Chairman of Birmingham Small Arms.

“From there, her life never regained its glitter, and she died penniless in 1983. Of course, her life story reads like an exciting movie!

“It’s a story that has always fascinated me, but I rarely come across details of her life in literature. I felt it was time to finally do the hard research, cut to the core of who she really was and commit it to paper for future generations to enjoy.”

The Dazzling Lady Docker is published on August 1 by Scratching Shed Publishing. Visit amzn.to/2Nhkx13 to order a copy.