As the number of house repossessions rises, there are the ordinary folk out there finding some reassurance that the rich and famous are not immune from losing their homes either. Idrone House, a 300-year-old Georgian mansion in Knocklyon, south Dublin, fell under the public spotlight last week due to proceedings issued by Bank of Scotland (Ireland). The owner is the actor, comedian, veteran pantomime star, and recently turned 'sugarcrafter' Adele King.

It's not the first time Twink, as King is better known, has faced a repossession order. Back in l993, she nearly lost her former home in Rathfarnham due to what she claimed were debts accrued from her dealings with jailed solicitor Elio Malocco. In 2006, the 58-year-old and her former husband David Agnew (48) had to pay a joint court judgement for €19,000 after being sued by a firm of builders for unpaid debts. One of the alterations to Idrone House in recent years is the creation of what King has described as her "sugarcraft loft for big little girls". The room was originally her ex-husband's office, and is now a confection in pink in every sense. This is where she now crafts her "edible art". But she long ago gave up trying to ice over the cracks in her marriage.

King's personal as well as professional life have been played out on the public stage practically since she became a 'Gaiety Kiddie' at the age of five. But expletive-laden lines delivered to Agnew's answering machine after their 21-year marriage broke down in 2004 have typecast her in a new role – that of wronged, and very fearsome, wife – ever since.

The tirade allegedly resulted from the failure of Mr Twink, or, as she dubbed him in that infamous message, the "fat, bald, middle-aged dickhead", to attend the birthday party of their eldest daughter Chloe (20). The message spread like wildfire via email, and went around the world and back again as a YouTube hit.

Undoubtedly, she is what might politely be called 'high octane'. Someone who has met her professionally over the years describes King as "draining. That said, I really like her. She's our Cher, the kind of star you rarely see in this country. Once you can get beyond the fact that she always seems to be 'on', she's a very bright, well-read, informed and talented woman."

She looks after herself, too. And you won't find her eating any of that cake she ices – she hates the stuff. Sweets, likewise. One gym member recalls seeing the formidable panto queen in action.

"She really doesn't do things by halves and would go at the gym equipment like a woman possessed. Definitely not the sort of person you want to have a row with."

In interviews, she invariably comes across as a resolute self-promoter. Who doesn't know that Twink wanted to be a doctor, can write and direct panto, do serious acting (The Vagina Monologues, Menopause the Musical), impersonates everyone she refers to, and ices cakes like a sculptor? Then there's the collecting passion, from dolls' houses to dogs. Among her many adored "mutts" is one 'Bertie Ahern' who she found abandoned and tied to a lamppost under an election poster.

Shouldn't the star herself be deserving of some public sympathy just now?

"I don't think we like people who are that 'full on' in this country," says a former showbusiness colleague. "And some people will secretly be pleased she's having financial problems. She doesn't deserve that."

The woman herself doesn't harbour delusions about the fickleness of public affection. "I know people think that I'm brash, arrogant, full of meself," she has said. "But that's only one side of things, and most entertainers are terrible cowards underneath it all, terribly shy, insecure people."

She views motherhood as her most important role; she frequently refers in interviews to daughters Chloe and Naomi (15). Her relationship with her eldest, a successful singer in her own right, is like that of "an auld married couple". King has said they were both very protective of the younger girl when news broke of Agnew's relationship with clarinetist Ruth Hickey (32), and the impending arrival of their child. Naomi was "very crushed, terribly hurt, particularly by the news of the new arrival. And they both felt he did not understand that he wasn't just cheating on me, he was cheating on them."

But she recently revealed that on the day their divorce was finalised, both she and Agnew exchanged sympathetic looks. "We both started crying, and he wrote me a lovely card."

Now her formidable focus is not only on writing her autobiography to raise funds, but building on that sugar-crafting business. Recent commissions included christening cakes for Gay Byrne's grandchild, Harry, and Lucy Kennedy's baby son, Jack. But the bank is closing in, assessing those debts on Idrone House, formerly valued at €2m. And that's an awful lot of sugar.

Hero or Villain? Adele King (Twink)

High: Reinventing her career and touring extensively with 'Menopause The Musical' and 'Dirty Dusting'

Low: Letting rip with that now infamous message left on her former husband's answering machine