Former West Ham star Tony Cottee says fans believe he must have earned millions every year because he was a footballer. But even though he once netted a five-figure sum in less than five seconds for scoring his tenth goal of the season for Leicester, he tells how he fell on hard times after he … Read more
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik endured the darkest period of his life after he lost his parliamentary seat in 2010. He struggled to find work for years afterwards and suffered from depression. Now 54, he lives in Surrey and is working as a brand and marketing strategist with Icon Relocation, a relocation company for … Read more
TV star Joanna Scanlan lived on £39 a week while she struggled to make it as an actress – signing on and busking in London’s Covent Garden to make ends meet. Scanlan, 58, known for her roles in TV series The Thick Of It and No Offence, set herself a goal of earning more than … Read more
Fitness guru Derrick Evans, also known as Mr Motivator, thinks people should stop saving for their retirement and live life as if there was no tomorrow. Evans, who rose to fame in the 1990s for his motivational fitness regimes, was made homeless in his 20s, but now owns a £2 million property in Jamaica, complete … Read more
ITN news presenter Lucrezia Millarini would scrap VAT on sanitary products if she were made Chancellor of the Exchequer. Millarini, who was knocked out of ITV’s Dancing On Ice in last week’s skate-off, thinks the tax is unfair because it penalises women’s physical make-up. Her biggest luxury is a two-hour, £120 massage that helps to … Read more
Michael Fabricant was a successful businessman before becoming Conservative MP in 1992 for Lichfield in Staffordshire. He has never struggled to make ends meet and reveals he once turned down a six-figure sum to take part in a reality TV programme. How did you feel about December’s Election result? It was a thrill to be … Read more
When TV presenter Scarlette Douglas was offered a two-second part in a Sure deodorant advert, she expected to be paid £500. Instead, she received £45,000 for a single day’s work – a sum she was able to put down as a deposit on a new house. The savvy 32-year-old property investor, who presents A Place … Read more
John Kapelos was paid just £16,000 to play janitor Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club Canadian actor John Kapelos was paid just £16,000 to star in the hit 1985 film The Breakfast Club. But he still receives a steady stream of income from it. Kapelos, who played janitor Carl Reed, also makes money every year … Read more
George Kruis wins the ball in the lineout during the Rugby World Cup 2019 England rugby player George Kruis used cannabis oil during the World Cup to help him sleep better. He also says the best money decision he ever made was setting up a cannabis oil company to provide him with an income in … Read more
Comedienne Lucy Porter says the best money decision she ever made was having children. The 46-year-old mother-of-two has found that the responsibility of parenting has made her more financially savvy, triggering her to start a pension and become more ambitious about her career. She lives in Pinner, Middlesex, with her husband, actor Justin Edwards, 47, … Read more
Support: Mark Bright sponsors seven children through a foundation Former footballer Mark Bright grew up in foster care dreaming of being rich one day. Having now achieved financial success, his top priority is to be there for his son. Bright – once so poor he struggled to buy food – reveals he used to clean … Read more
Former fund manager Nicola Horlick stopped investing in shares just before the credit crunch hit in 2007 and has not put a penny into the stock market since. Horlick, 58, currently standing for Parliament as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Chelsea and Fulham in London, credits her entrepreneurial father with giving her the drive and … Read more
TV and radio presenter Tommy Boyd would ban pocket money if he were made Chancellor of the Exchequer. Boyd, who famously presented children’s TV shows Magpie, Jigsaw and the Wide Awake Club in the 1970s and 1980s, was once paid the equivalent of £10,000 in 1985 to entertain the Crown Prince of Brunei at his … Read more