Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff: Celebrity twins die six days apart after falling ill with COVID-19

euronews.com:

French celebrity twins Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff have died within six days of each other after contracting COVID-19.

Both television presenters, the pair rose to fame in the 1980s and were known for their atypical physical transformation and their controversial scientific works.

Igor died aged 72 at a hospital in Paris on Monday after falling ill with COVID-19. It comes six days after Grichka lost his battle against the disease.

In a statement released by his agent, the family said: "In peace and love, surrounded by his children and his family, Igor Bogdanoff left for the light on Monday, January 3, 2022."

Igor is survived by his ex-wife, the writer Amélie de Bourbon-Parme, and their six children.

Edouard de Lamaze, the twins' lawyer, confirmed to RTL that both had died after contracting COVID-19.

Just a day after Grichka's death, philosophy professor and former education minister Luc Ferry, a friend of the two brothers, claimed neither had been vaccinated.

Made famous in the 1980s for their TV science fiction show 'Temps X' ('Time X') on TF1, in which they appeared in a spaceship setting wearing futuristic suits, Igor and Grichka were often mocked for their deeply transformed faces, which they themselves described as "alien".

Their show was responsible for introducing series like The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and Doctor Who to French audiences.

Despite Igor having a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Burgundy, their scientific works have always been highly controversial and have earned them the wrath of some in the scientific community who criticised the "low value" of their work, especially after the twins published physics papers in the early 2000s.

They were accused of plagiarism by the American