The child star of Oliver! yesterday pledged to take a DNA test to determine if he is the father of Michael Jackson’s children.
Mark Lester, who made his name in the 1968 film version of the musical, said he believed there was a ‘good possibility’ he is the father of Prince Michael, 16, Paris, 15, and Blanket, 11.
The 54-year-old was close friends with Jackson for more than three decades and claims he donated sperm for the superstar before the first child was born.
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The man in question: British actor Mark Lester asserts he may be the biological father of Michael Jackson’s children Prince Michael, 16, Paris, 15, and Blanket, 11
Mr Lester said: ‘I wouldn’t have a DNA test without the children’s permission but when the children come of age, and it’s not far away, and they decide they want me to do it then I will.
‘It is up to them. I don’t want to tell them what to do. I just want to reconnect and be the godfather that Michael made me.’
He added: ‘My 18-year-old daughter Olivia looks like Paris. People have also pointed out similarities between myself when I was younger and Prince Michael.’
Mr Lester found fame at the age of eight when he played the title role in the film of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! He became good friends with Jackson in London in 1978 when the singer was performing with the Jackson 5.
In 1995, shortly after Mr Lester’s third child was born, Jackson broached the subject of fertility, he said. ‘I remember Michael ringing and saying, “Oh, you don’t have any fertility difficulties do you?” He was half joking so I joked, “Oh, I just look at her and she gets pregnant”.
‘So then in a light-hearted way he said, “Will you help me out?” Initially I thought he wanted me to do something with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and I was thinking, “I don’t think so”.
Will she want to meet him? Paris with her birth mother Debbie Rowe on Saturday, the two have recently reconciled
Severed ties: Lester claims he last saw the three children at Jackson’s memorial service in 2009 following his untimely death at age 50
‘Then out of the blue about a year later, he mentioned sperm donation and I agreed. Michael set it up for me to turn up to a clinic in Harley Street to do it. It was weird. I went in a couple of times to donate but we never talked about it ever again.
‘It was a really strange request but while Michael was alive I never gave it another thought. I didn’t donate to get something out of it.’
Mr Lester is now an osteopath and lives in Cheltenham with his second wife Lisa and the four children from his first marriage.
Questionable resemblance: The former child actor, pictured in 1970, is the godfather of Jackson’s three children including son Prince Michael, pictured at Jackson’s 2009 memorial service
Close friends: Jackson and Lester remained friends for over 30 years, and often spent holidays together with their respective families
Quality time: Lester, pictured in 1968, said of his meetings with Jackson’s offspring, ‘Every time Michael came to the UK, I used to take my children to see his. They always got on really well’
Similar features: Lester alleges his daughters Olivia and Harrett, pictured in 2009, resemble Jackson’s daughter Paris, pictured in 2012
Cause for concern: Lester, pictured in 2009 with daughter Harriet, said he began to doubt the paternity of Jackson’s children when he ‘noticed the likenesses in my own children and his’
He said his children became friends with Jackson’s children and when they met up they were like ‘one big happy family’. Jackson made him godfather to his three children in 2001, he said.
But Mr Lester said it was only two months after Jackson died aged 50 in June 2009 after overdosing on painkillers and tranquillisers that he first considered that he could be the father of the children.
Lawyers for Jackson’s family have previously rubbished his claims, saying they have ‘no merit’ and branding them a ‘genetic lottery attempt’. The singer’s brother Jermaine has also insisted the children were all fathered by Jackson.
Jackson’s British former bodyguard Matt Fiddes has previously claimed he could be the father of Blanket, saying he agreed to become a sperm donor in 2001.
The Jackson children are due to be witnesses in a £26million lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live. Jackson’s family say the firm, which organised his 50 farewell gigs in London, ignored fears over his health.
Siblings? Lester remarked of genetic testing to determine whether Harriet, pictured in 2009, and Paris, pictured in 2011, are sisters, ‘It is up to them’
