TRIBUTES have been paid to former TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright who has died in Edinburgh at the age of 66.

The star, best known as one of the culinary duo Two Fat Ladies, who lived in Inveresk, East Lothian, died at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary on Saturday.

Her agents, Heather Holden-Brown and Elly James, said: "Loved dearly by her friends and many fans all over the world, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost.

"Her fun and laughter, extraordinary learning and intelligence, will be missed always, by so many of us."

The broadcaster and food writer shot to fame with Jennifer Paterson, who died, after being diagnosed with cancer, in 1999, at the age of 71. The duo travelled in a motorbike and sidecar in the BBC series, which enjoyed success around the world.

Ms James said Dickson Wright "hadn't been well for a little while" and had been in hospital since the beginning of the year.

Dickson Wright was initially a barrister. She and Paterson were put together for a BBC series in 1996, by producer Patricia Llewellyn who discovered Dickson Wright working in an Edinburgh cookery bookshop and decided to introduce her to Paterson, who said she had never had a cookery lesson.

Dickson Wright was known for being outspoken, and recently hit headlines when she suggested that Britons should eat badgers.

She was also installed as Rector of the University of Aberdeen in 1999. A university spokeswoman said: "She brought her individualism and style to many University of Aberdeen events - including the creation of a medieval feast in support of student hardship funds.

"Our former Rector was very popular with the student body, bringing to this role an incisiveness which reflected her former career as a barrister."

Edinburgh chef Tony Singh, who has appeared on shows such as Ready Steady Cook and Great British Menu, said: "Her fun, feistiness and love for what she liked to cook and teach people about is what good food and great hospitality should be about."