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Home Tunbridge Wells News Article
The owner of a Kent attraction has died.
Justin Bodle, famous for producing TV shows Fraggle Rock and Henry VIII, bought Groombridge Place near Tunbridge Wells in 2001.
He died at his home in the south of France at the age of 58. His cause of death has not been revealed.
The 17th century moated manor house and its 200-acre estate are a popular tourist attraction on the border of Kent with East Sussex
Mr Bodle started his career at Thames Television selling air-time to advertisers. He later worked for HIT Entertainment before forming his own company Power Television.
He produced several programmes himself including Fragglerock and the Emmy-award winning Henry VIII starring Ray Winston, and Archangel with Daniel Craig.
Mr Bodle had been brought up in a country manor house himself - Lower Slaughter Manor in Gloucestershire - and he said he bought Groombridge Place because he wanted to provide a similar wonderful environment for his own children.
But his career was not all roses.
Of the 23 companies that he was at one time a director of, 15 have been dissolved and three went into liquidation, including Groombridge Estates Ltd, the company that he first set up to run Groombridge Place. That crashed with debts of £352,000 just last year.
The attraction continued under the new ownership of GPE Managment. Mr Bodle was the sole director of both companies.
A spokesman for Groombridge Place was not yet able to give any statement about the future of the venue.
Mr Bodle is survived by three children.
