Sir Clive Sinclair divorces wife 36 years his junior he met when she was lapdancer at Stringfellows

He was credited with inventing the first low-cost pocket calculator and revolutionising the British consumer electronics industry. She was a lapdancer at Peter Stringfellow’s famous nightclub who went by the name "Paris".

So, when Sir Clive Sinclair opted to end a 25-year relationship with his devoted former secretary to marry Angie Bowness, 36 years his junior, friends of the inventor could have been forgiven for thinking: "Does not compute."

Now, however, it appears to be game over for the couple’s seven-year marriage, after Sir Clive filed divorce papers from his hospital bed.

Furthermore, the electronics genius is understood to have rekindled his relationship with Elaine Millar, 69, almost a decade after their association was thought to have gone the way of the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle.

Ms Bowness, Lady Sinclair, who described herself as “over the moon” after their 2010 wedding in Las Vegas, was reported to have burst into tears and said she was “too upset” to comment when asked to confirm the split by The Mail on Sunday.

However representatives acting for the inventor – a former chairman of Mensa with an IQ of 159 – issued a statement on his behalf.

“Following a prolonged hospitalisation in 2016, Sir Clive filed for divorce before his discharge from the hospital,

“The divorce became final in January 2017. Financial settlement proceedings are ongoing and Sir Clive has asked that he be allowed to conduct this matter in private.”

Sir Clive, 76, divorced his first wife and mother of his three children, Ann Trevor-Briscoe, in 1985, after 23 years of marriage.

He then lived in a flat on Trafalgar Square adjoining that of Ms Millar, who helped him run his business – at one point valued at more than £100 million – and accompanied him to public events.

They lost contact after Sir Clive’s second marriage, and Ms Millar moved to Harrogate, Yorkshire.

Lady Sinclair’s first marriage was to businessman Mark Thornton. The couple had a son, now 19, but separated not long after his birth.

Over the course of her seven-year marriage to Sir Clive, she divided her time between London and a home in Nottingham which she shared with her mother, Shirley.

Sir Clive, who also designed the "A-Bike", a compact folding bike intended for commuters, and a hand-held computer gaming device which failed to take off, sold the Sinclair name to then-competitor Sir Alan Sugar for £5 million in 1986.