Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson told a London court Wednesday that ex-husband Charles Saatchi had threatened to "destroy" her, as she testified in the trial of two former personal assistants accused of fraud.

The former aides, Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, deny embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds on company credit cards while employed by Lawson and Saatchi.

Lawson's comment about her ex-husband came as she was asked about her reluctance to attend court as a witness in the assistants' trial - a case that has gripped the media as claims emerge about the couple's troubled personal life.
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Charles Saatchi, the millionaire ex-husband of celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, said Friday he believed his ex-wife had taken drugs but had no evidence of it, as he testified at the trial of two former assistants accused of fraud.

The former assistants, Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, deny embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds on company credit cards.

Allegations of drug use by Lawson were made in a pre-trial hearing for the case earlier this week, when an e-mail sent by Saatchi to Lawson in October was read out by the defense.
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Charles Saatchi, the millionaire ex-husband of celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, took the stand Friday at the trial of two former personal assistants accused of defrauding the couple.

The former assistants, Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, deny embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds on company credit cards.

Saatchi described the sisters' roles as housekeeping, organizing the household and helping out with any tasks needed by the family. They were first employed by Lawson and then by his company, he said.
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