Court Docs Claim Nigella Lawson Used Drugs for Years, Ex-Hubby Calls Her ‘Higella’

TV chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson allegedly used cocaine, pot and prescription drugs “daily” for over a decade.

According to several reports, the evidence was made public by a British judge on Tuesday, as two former assistants contested fraud charges that they took more than £300,000 ($488,600) while working for Lawson and her former husband Charles Saatchi.

Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo claim they are innocent, and were told by Lawson that they could use a corporate credit card at their leisure for keeping her alleged drug abuse a secret from Saatchi.

After hearing the allegations, Saatchi wrote an angry email, part of which was read out in court, in which he describes his ex-wife as "Higella” and says he now believes the Grillos' claims.

The substance abuse allegations first emerged at a pretrial hearing on November 15, when the lawyer representing Elisabetta Grillo took the unusual step of lodging a "bad character application" in order to place a question mark over Lawson's reliability as a witness for the prosecution.

On Wednesday, Lawson's legal team dismissed the drug allegations, calling them "totally scurrilous" and untrue, adding that the timing of the sordid revelations "is no coincidence at all" after her headline-grabbing divorce drama. Lawson and Saatchi divorced in July, shortly after Saatchi was photographed grabbing Lawson by the neck.

Nigella herself tweeted her thanks to those supporting her by posting a recipe for holiday cakes.