George Michael's Secret Double Life of Giving

For decades, one of the world's biggest pop stars lived a double life - and the world only found out when he was gone. George Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016, had quietly given away millions of pounds to complete strangers, on one condition: that nobody ever told anyone it was him.

The Woman Who Named Her Baby George

Lynette Gillard appeared on Deal or No Deal hoping to win enough to fund IVF treatment. She didn't win. The next morning, Channel 4 received a call from an anonymous donor offering to cover the full £15,000 cost. Lynette had no idea who it was until TV presenter and former Deal or No Deal producer Richard Osman revealed it publicly after George Michael's death. She named her son Seth Logan George Hart in his honour after learning - through Osman's tweet - that George Michael had been her anonymous donor.

The Annual Easter Phone-In

Every year at Easter, Capital FM DJ Mick Brown ran the Help A London Child charity phone-in alongside Chris Tarrant. Every year, at the same time, an anonymous caller donated £100,000. Brown only confirmed after Michael's death that the caller was George Michael - who had done it, year after year, without ever claiming credit.

The Cheque Left with a Waitress

Sitting in a cafe, George Michael overheard a woman at a nearby table in tears over her debts. He wrote a £25,000 cheque, handed it to the waitress, and asked her to give it to the woman after he left. In a separate incident, writer Sali Hughes revealed that Michael had tipped a student nurse working at a bar £5,000 to clear her student debt - asking only that she tell no one.

Millions More, All Anonymous

Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of Childline, described George Michael as "the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist" the charity had known - a "secret star." He donated the royalties from his 1996 single Jesus to a Child entirely to Childline and gave millions more over the years on the condition his name never appeared. He also volunteered at a London homeless shelter, asking staff to keep it between them - a promise they kept until after his death.

The full scale of his giving may never be known. That, it seems, was exactly how he wanted it.