Queen star Brian May and his wife Anita Dobson have shared their thoughts on claims May’s late bandmate Freddie Mercury had a secret daughter.
Mercury conceived the girl during an affair with a close friend’s wife in 1976, according to the new biography Love, Freddie by writer Lesley-Ann Jones.
The Queen frontman reportedly visited his daughter regularly until his death in 1991, gifting her 17 volumes of detailed personal journals.
The daughter, who is known only as B, is now aged 48 and works as a medical professional in Europe, according to the Daily Mail.
Although Jones has said she has DNA evidence to back up her claims, May and Dobson shared their scepticism over the story.
Actress Dobson, 76, told The Mirror: “I went, ‘what?’ I thought, no? And I said to Brian: ‘Do you know about this?’ And he said: ‘Do you believe this?’”
Dobson claimed Mercury was too famous for the bombshell news to have not come out sooner.
“There must be lots of people who have children that we don’t know about. It’s just because it’s him. Because he’s iconic. And the type of animal that he was, it seems inconceivable that he would have a child with someone we don’t know about,” she said.
“If he does have one - where is she? Step forward. If she exists. Maybe it is just more fake news.”
Mercury told bandmates May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor as well as his parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sister, Kashmira, and long-time companion Mary Austin about his daughter, according to Jones - who has written several books on the rocker.
The woman reportedly lives in Europe with a family of her own.
Mercury allegedly had his own room in her home and called her every day, even while touring with Queen, until his death from bronchial pneumonia caused by AIDS aged 45.
The woman stated in a handwritten letter included in the book: “Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life.
“He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me.
“Those who have been aware of my existence kept his greatest secret out of loyalty to Freddie.”
Jones has since hit back at claims the story is fake.
“To those 'demanding' to see proof of a DNA test, otherwise they won't believe it - please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private and not shared publicly,” she said.
“To those insisting Freddie Mercury's diaries were faked with AI, that his daughter 'doesn't exist' and that I've made the whole thing up: wait and see.
“His own story is his true story, told in his own words, is incredible. I love him all the more for it. You will too.”
