Latest news with #MartineMcCutcheon
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Martine McCutcheon's pals reveal how Love Actually icon went bankrupt for a second time
Former EastEnders actress Martine McCutcheon is having a rough time of it of late, with the newly single star recently declared bankrupt for a second time Former EastEnders actress Martine McCutcheon has been hit with another blow just a year after parting ways with her husband Jack McManus, with it revealed over the weekend that the newly single star has fallen on hard times financially. The Love Actually actress has reportedly been declared bankrupt, as per court documents, following a petition for insolvency over a debt owed to a finance company, official public records have disclosed. This comes on the heels of her having to reduce the asking price of her beautiful Surrey home. It's now claimed the star, who was once worth millions as an Olivier Award winner with a number one single to her name, lost her money due to "high spending habits" and struggling to land roles amid a battle with ill health. Martine's friends reportedly say their pal made some "highly questionable spending decisions" over recent years, like paying 'thousands' to the Mafia in order to tie the knot with ex Jack in Lake Como, Italy back in 2012. The mum-of-one being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) in 2011 and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has also damaged her bank balance and seen her earnings take a dip. One of the star's friends muses how, despite appearing in one of the nation's favourite soaps and classic Christmas film Love Actually, Martine's most iconic roles came about over 20 years ago and "money does not last for ever if you do not invest it wisely." "It has not helped that she loves the finer things in her life, and it is no secret that she has spent more than she should have done over the years," the pal tells the Daily Mail. "She has had bits and pieces of TV work recently – but nothing has come close to being a blockbuster role that might get her out of her financial mess." They add: "It's a real shame as she's immensely talented with a wealth of experience. Hopefully she can turn things around, but she's had a real tough time." A court document indicates that the insolvency order was issued on 31 March this year, a few months after she announced her split from Jack, her husband of 18 years. The couple share a 10 year old son, Rafferty. The bankruptcy ruling, which was filed under her married name, Martine McManus, was handed down in March at the County Court in Guildford, instigated by a petition from a firm named LDF Finance. Meanwhile, Martine's company, Raven Music Ltd, was also wound up last month, a move initiated by HMRC due to outstanding tax bills. The most recent accounts reveal that the business had a tax liability exceeding £175,000, due within the 12-month period post-February 2022. However, the total amount of Martine's personal tax bill remains undisclosed, and it is yet to be determined whether the Official Receiver will call for a public examination of her bankruptcy, which would lay bare her financial situation. This isn't Martine's first brush with financial woes. Despite a previous net worth of around £2million, she faced bankruptcy in 2013 with debts totalling approximately £187,000, including a hefty £150,000 owed to HMRC. By the following year, Martine had been discharged from bankruptcy and was once again financially solvent. She and her now ex-husband splashed out a staggering £1.3million on their former marital home in Surrey just three years prior. Last year, the pair announced their separation after an 18-year marriage. Announcing their separation on social media, she stated: "After much thought and consideration, Jack has decided it's best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision. I continue to send Jack, all the love, luck and happiness for the next chapter of his life."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: How Martine McCutcheon ended up bankrupt for a second time after her work dried up and she blew her fortune on high spending
Martine McCutcheon appeared to have a golden financial future at the height of her fame thanks to roles in EastEnders the hit movie Love Actually. But MailOnline revealed exclusively on Saturday how she had gone bankrupt for a second time while her company owed £175,000 to the taxman. The astonishing reversal in her fortunes after a career - which included having a number one single and an Olivier Award as a West End stage star - have led to questions about what happened to the millions of pounds she earned. Now we can disclose that friends believe her money was frittered away thanks to her high spending habits and her acting work largely drying up in recent years. McCutcheon, 49 has previously admitted being obsessed with buying luxury goods such as Ralph Lauren sheets and Gucci bags. She has also made some highly questionable spending decisions such as paying 'thousands' to the Mafia to allow her glitzy wedding to her husband Jack McManus, 40, to go ahead in 2012 in Lake Como, Italy. Her poor health has also hit her earnings potential with her having been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) in 2011 and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in 2022. The final straw appears to have been the break-up of her marriage last year to singer songwriter Jack which apparently forced her to sell their five bed marital home in Surrey for £1,355,000. One source close to the star told MailOnline: 'Martine remains one of TV's most recognisable faces and a much-loved personality. 'You would think her performances in those two juggernauts alone would guarantee her work for life, but it hasn't worked out that way. 'She was well paid for both roles, but they were both more than 20-years-ago, and money does not last for ever if you do not invest it wisely. 'It has not helped that she loves the finer things in her life, and it is no secret that she has spent more than she should have done over the years. 'She has had bits and pieces of TV work recently – but nothing has come close to being a blockbuster role that might get her out of her financial mess. 'It's a real shame as she's immensely talented with a wealth of experience. Hopefully she can turn things around, but she's had a real tough time.' McCutcheon was said to be earning just £1.50 an hour as an assistant in Knicker Box before she shot to fame in 1995 at the age of 18 when she played Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders. She stayed in the BBC1 show until 1998 when her character was killed off, and went on to launch a pop career, having a number one hit in 1999 with her song Perfect Moment. A Laurence Olivier Award followed in 2002 when she played Eliza Doolittle in the National Theatre's stage production of My Fair Lady. And Hollywood stardom beckoned in 2003 when she played Natalie, the Downing Street tea lady who caught the Prime Minister's eye in the romcom Love Actually, alongside Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth. McCutcheon was widely acclaimed for her role as the love interest of the premier played by Grant, and she went to America where agents lined her up for meetings with movie producers But a Tinseltown career failed to materialise, and she instead turned to literature with her novel The Mistress becoming a top ten bestseller in 2009. McCutcheon's personal fortune was estimated as being at between £1.5m and £2m before she found herself another moneyspinning role as the face of Dantone's UK advertising campaign for its Activa yoghurt. But a look at her career in recent years shows shows how work and long term money-making opportunities appear to have largely passed her by since then. Her last major TV appearances were as herself in The Masked Singer in 2021 and a stint on Celebrity Gogglebox the previous year, in which she starred alongside her ex-husband Jack. McCutcheon's big screen role was in 2018 coming-of-age comedy film The Bromley Boys, about a teenager's support for his local team Bromley FC, described as the 'worst football team' in Britain in the late 1960s. Her last notable drama role on the small screen was even further back when she had a brief stint in Midsomer Murders in 2013. McCutcheon previously admitted that her world came crashing down following her diagnosis of ME in 2011, after previously fighting Lyme disease, which can cause fever, and Fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that creates pain throughout the body. The condition left her temporarily confined her to a wheelchair and battling extreme tiredness and depression while she stayed at home for a month, not wanting to see anyone. She claimed the illness was sparked by the pressures of her role in My Fair Lady back in 2001, coupled with her hectic lifestyle at the time. Martine said previously: 'I became a complete workaholic, I went to work and then I'd go to some shuzzy do, and I tried to escape. Around the time of My Fair Lady, everything was perfect, and I just got ill and it all fell apart for me.' She added: 'You think you can do it all, but all you do is hurt yourself. It all did and then I was a wreck.' Pouring her heart out on Loose Women in 2016, she said: 'It was a real pressure especially on matinee days and then as well as shoots and relationships, and I think that's why I got ME. 'I got a virus, infections and I don't think anything else would have stopped me but that.' She added: 'It stopped me in my tracks. It was horrible. I've learnt a lot. But still now I'm here going: "Should I be here?" 'But now instead of back then, there's another voice saying "Yes, yes you should!" My Fair Lady's producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh previously spoke about how her determination for perfection caused her so much stress. He said: 'She'd be hysterical, beating herself up and saying, "It wasn't perfect, it wasn't perfect." You'd go back and say, "It was terrific, listen to the audience." Six years later, McCutcheon revealed she was suffering with further health issues after being diagnosed with ADD shortly after her brother LJ tragically died aged 31 in 2022. Speaking about the moment she was told of her ADD condition, she said: 'At first I went into denial, completely into denial, because my brother had passed away. 'I've been diagnosed with ME, and I just thought, I can't take this diagnosis on and whatever it means. I need to just keep going at life the way that I am. 'And in a way, I was kind of right. And then when I did finally look at it, I cried, I cried, cried and cried, I grieved, and it was just for if only I'd known how different things could have been, how much more with ease I would have been able to have done things. 'I do look back and see a lot of struggle with what I did. People just sort of think, oh, you know, she had the Midas touch. 'She'd do this, she'd do that. But I was always told by agents, why don't you just stick with one thing, because then you could go all the way to the top in it and stay there. 'Now I look back and I think, my God, it was a blessing that I couldn't, or didn't want to focus on the one thing.' Incredibly, the seeds of McCutcheon's financial implosion appear to have been planted at the time of her glitzy and expensive fairytale wedding to her husband on the shores of Lake Como, five years after they met. Jack later revealed they incurred 'hidden costs' and had to stump up 'thousands' to the Mafia to let off fireworks on the lake. When the mobsters discovered they had sold the rights to the photos and coverage of the big day to Hello magazine, they demanded more cash, which Jack refused to pay, leaving McCutcheon in fear of her life. She once recalled: 'I went, "Oh my God, there's going to be a dead horse's head in our bed!". I was petrified. I was like, "Don't stand your ground now, Jack. Please be quiet". But he wouldn't make another donation.' McCutcheon's mounting debts came home to roost within a year of their wedding day. When she was forced to sell her £25,000 engagement ring. It was also reported that she had suffered a string of 'horrific' miscarriages in the early years of her marriage. She said at the time: 'I just thought my health, money, career have all been taken from me, and now even my engagement ring — the one thing that represents what is solid in my life — has gone.' Things took a turn for the worse when she declared herself bankrupt for the first time in 2013 due to reportedly racking up £187,000 of debts, including £150,000 owed to HMRC. McCutcheon is believed to have been discharged from her bankruptcy in 2014 and got back on her feet financially. She and her husband were able to splash out £1.3m on buying their dream detached home in Surrey in June 2022, but the couple revealed last August that they were splitting up after 18 years together. It later emerged that they had put their home on the market three months earlier in May last year with an asking price of £1.5m. They later reduced the price to £1.25m – meaning they faced making a loss on the property – before securing a sale in January this year for £1,355,000, according to Land Registry records. On top of everything else, McCutcheon has spoken about having bouts of crippling anxiety and battles with her weight. She was reported last year to have lost five stone, dropping three dress sizes thanks to a strict Cambridge Weight Plan diet, although she said she occasionally took a break to enjoy pizza or a gin and tonic. A bankruptcy order in her married name – Martine McManus - was made in March at the County Court in Guildford, Surrey after a petition was filed against her last November by a finance firm called LDF Finance which she owed an unspecified sum of money to. It is not known if the Official Receiver will apply for a public examination of her bankruptcy which would disclose her financial affairs to the world. MailOnline disclosed on Saturday how McCutcheon's company Raven Music Ltd which she launched in February 2017, was wound up by a judge at the High Court on June 4 this year after a petition from HMRC. The company's last accounts filed in February 2023 showed it had assets of £272,977 including more than £211,000 in cash in the bank in February 2022. But at the same time, it had debts falling due for payment in the future for £255,693, including £110,000 in Corporation Tax and £64,790 in other HMRC payments, payable in the 12month period after February 2022. The current financial position of the company has not been disclosed. It had faced a notice for compulsory strike off in February last year, but it was suspended two weeks later. McCutcheon revealed in an Instagram statement last August that her husband had walked out on her. She wrote: 'After much thought and consideration, Jack has decided it's best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision.' McCutcheon later added: 'I continue to send Jack, all the love, luck and happiness for the next chapter of his life.' The actress also previously once admitted she was 'materialistic' with a love of luxury goods. She once said: 'I love nice things – I consider Ralph Lauren sheets to be a necessity, not a luxury – but I've known what it's like to be poor. 'I'm a Taurean, so I'm very passionate and determined and materialistic. Down the years I've spent a lot of money and saved a bit of money and had a lot of fun. 'And yes, if it all ended tomorrow and I could never afford another Gucci bag, then I think it's safe to say that I've got enough to be going on with.' In an interview with BBC4's Woman's Hour, she admitted that she turned into a recluse when her marriage first came under strain. She said: 'I didn't want to answer my phone. I didn't want to answer the front door, go outside and I would panic out of nowhere and have to pull over when I was driving because I felt this huge fear and couldn't breathe.' The actress added: 'I genuinely felt I was losing my mind. I didn't know if I really was or if it was something that was perimenopausal. 'It would just come on out of nowhere and when I spoke to my specialist about it she said, 'You know this is sadly the case for many women.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Love Actually star Martine McCutcheon's sad update after split from husband
Martine McCutcheon has filed for bankruptcy, just eleven months after splitting from her husband. Official documents show the actor has filed a petition for insolvency due to a debt she owes to a finance company – just two months after selling her family home at a slashed price, reports The Sun. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy order was made in her married name – Martine McManus – although she was formally single by then. The couple announced their split last year after 18 years together. Martine wrote on her Instagram Story at the time: 'After much thought and consideration, Jack has decided it's best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision. 'We are both so very blessed and grateful for our beautiful, 9 year old son Rafferty, whose happiness and welfare, has always been, and will continue to be, our number one priority. 'We both of course, still cherish and look forward to being parents together to our wonderful boy for the rest of our lives … 'While this decision has evolved over a period of time, we are still finding our new way forward as a family and kindly ask for some privacy at this time … 'Especially for our little boy. 'Our love for Rafferty, is something that will never, waver, or change and we obviously want to protect him and help him feel as safe and secure as possible. 'Many thanks in advance for your respect and support, at this difficult time … 'And I continue to send Jack, all the love, luck and happiness for the next chapter of his. 'Rafferty and I (as always,) are rooting for you! 'Thank you all, for the love and support, now and always … Although once worth $4.12 million, Martine and Jack faced serious financial troubles within a year of their wedding day. To pay off mounting debts, she was forced to flog the $51,500 engagement ring Jack gave her when he proposed. She said: 'I just thought my health, money, career have all been taken from me, and now even my engagement ring — the one thing that represents what is solid in my life — has gone.' In 2003, Martine made the jump from British soap EastEnders to film with a major role in classic rom-com Love Actually. She portrayed Natalie, a junior Downing Street staff member and love interest to the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant). Earlier this year, Martine revealed she will be making a huge TV return – eight months on from her marriage split. She shared a short Instagram clip saying: 'Hello everybody, I hope you are good, I've just pulled over, I did the school run this morning a bit windswept got the window down just having a hot flush. 'I was looking at my Instagram and I realised that I actually haven't talked to you guys on here, just having a chit chat for such a long time because I've had so much going on and yeah it's been so much change. 'I've still been managing to do my thing and get back to it, I did a show the other night that I am probably its number one fan. 'I'll share more with you about that nearer the time but loved it, loved it. I've been meditating for the universe and I've decided that I really want to do guided meditations and I want to help people.'
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Martine McCutcheon is declared BANKRUPT less than a year after split from husband
MARTINE McCutcheon has filed for bankruptcy, just eleven months after splitting from her husband. Official documents show the former EastEnders star has filed a petition for insolvency due to a debt she owes to a finance company - just two months after selling her family home at a slashed price. 2 2
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon is declared BANKRUPT... 11 months after ending her marriage
EastEnders legend Martine McCutcheon has been declared bankrupt – just months after the break up of her marriage, MailOnline can reveal. The 49 year old actress - who also appeared in Love Actually - filed a petition for her insolvency over a debt to a finance company, official public records reveal. McCutcheon's financial woes follow soon after the very public split from husband Jack McManus, with whom she shares a ten-year-old son. The couple, who had married in a lavish event at Lake Como in Italy in 2012, announced their split late last year. And her bankruptcy was issued just two months after McCutcheon and musician McManus, 42, sold the family home they had shared, a five bedroom detached home in Surrey for £1,355,000, as they went their separate ways. The bankruptcy order was made in her married name – Martine McManus - despite her being formally single by the then. It was issued in March at the County Court in Guildford, Surrey following a petition filed by a company called LDF Finance to whom she owed an unspecified sum of money. But that wasn't the only financial blow to strike her soon after the marriage split: her company Raven Music Ltd was also wound up just last month at the request of HMRC due to unpaid tax bills, MalOnline has learned. The most recent accounts for the company reveal that it owed more than £175,000 to the taxman, payable in the 12month period after February 2022. McCutcheon's total personal tax bill has not been revealed, and it is not known if the Official Receiver will apply for a public examination of her bankruptcy which would disclose her financial affairs to the world. As Martine's finances were unravelling, the actress continued to put on a brave face in public: that same month that her music company was hitting the buffers, for example, she posted on social media about a day out with her son Rafferty and their dog. She wrote: 'I love being by the water… ⛵️���� The Uk has SO many beautiful places and in the sunshine, it really does take some beating doesn't it? �� This is us on Hampton court river…. We booked a boat, and took a little picnic and it was gorgeous!! ' This is actually the second time that the actress - whose net worth was once estimated as being over £2 million - has been declared bankrupt, having previously endured the distressing legal process in 2013. That earlier bankruptcy came after she reportedly racked up £187,000 of debts,which included £150,000 owed to HMRC. But McCutcheon is believed to have been discharged from that previous bankruptcy in 2014, allowing her to get back on her feet financially. She and her husband were certainly solvent enough to be able to splash out £1.3m on buying their dream detached home in Surrey in June 2022. But the move to a dream home didn't save the relationship of the couple who revealed last August that they were splitting up last August after 18 years together. And McCutcheon revealed last year that her husband had ended their relationship. Sources close to the star indicated she desperately tried to save her marriage but eventually accepted her husband's decision to move on. In her split statement, which she posted on Instagram, McCutcheon wrote: 'After much thought and consideration, Jack has decided it's best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision.' She later added: 'I continue to send Jack, all the love, luck and happiness for the next chapter of his life.' It later emerged that they had put their home on the market three months earlier in May last year with an asking price of £1.5m. They later reduced the price to £1.25m – meaning they faced making a loss on the property – before securing a sale in January this year for £1,355,000, according to Land Registry records. The actress has now downsized and is believed to live in a rented three bedroom Victorian terraced home in a nearby town in Surrey. McCutcheon shot to fame in 1995 at the age of 18 when she played Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders and stayed in the BBC1 show until 1998 when her character was killed off. She went on to launch a pop career, and had a number one hit in 1999 with her song Perfect Moment. McCutcheon went on to have a number of TV roles and won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2002 for playing Eliza Doolittle in the National Theatre's stage production of My Fair Lady. She also starred with Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth in the 2003 hit film Love Actually, and went to America in the wake of its success, but a Hollywood career did not materialise. Her novel The Mistress became a top ten bestseller in 2009 and she went on to be the face of Dantone's UK advertising campaign for its Activa yogurt. She was said to be earning just £1.50 an hour in Knicker Box before her EastEnders role which set her on the path to amassing a reported fortune of £1.5million. McCutcheon has previously admitted she is 'materialistic' and has a love for the finer things in life. She once said: 'I love nice things – I consider Ralph Lauren sheets to be a necessity, not a luxury – but I've known what it's like to be poor. 'I'm a Taurean, so I'm very passionate and determined and materialistic. Down the years I've spent a lot of money and saved a bit of money and had a lot of fun. 'And yes, if it all ended tomorrow and I could never afford another Gucci bag, then I think it's safe to say that I've got enough to be going on with.' A source told MailOnline: 'Martine's had an incredibly tough few years, not just in her personal life, but her businesses too. 'Unfortunately the bankruptcy was unavoidable, but she's seeing it as a fresh start and will look to bounce back. She's done it before and she'll do it again.' In an interview with BBC4's Woman's Hour, she admitted that she turned into a recluse when her marriage first came under strain. She said: 'I didn't want to answer my phone. I didn't want to answer the front door, go outside and I would panic out of nowhere and have to pull over when I was driving because I felt this huge fear and couldn't breathe.' The actress added: 'I genuinely felt I was losing my mind. I didn't know if I really was or if it was something that was perimenopausal. 'It would just come on out of nowhere and when I spoke to my specialist about it she said, 'You know this is sadly the case for many women.' McCutcheon's health was also deeply impacted by the shock death in 2022 of her brother LJ (Lawrence John) who had a mild form of special needs and passed away with 'no medical explanation'. The website designer had been due to get married a month before his death and McCutcheon was going to be a bridesmaid. Following his death, McCutcheon who was already living with ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) admitted she had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Speaking on the A Gentle Star: The Showercast podcast, she admitted she had been in denial about having the condition. She said: 'At first I went into I went into denial, completely into denial, because my brother had passed away. 'I've been diagnosed with ME, and I just thought, I can't take this diagnosis on and whatever it means. I need to just keep going at life the way that I am. And in a way, I was kind of right. 'And then when I did finally look at it, I cried, I cried, cried and cried, I grieved, and it was just for if only I'd known how different things could have been, how much more with ease I would have been able to have done things.' McCutcheon added: 'I always felt there were certain things that I looked at differently, different things I struggled with compared to other people, but different things I found so easy, and I realised, when I got my ADD diagnosis, that I had spent so much time trying to be a square in a round circle, and it was exhausting. 'It was so draining. It was just so hard. And in a way, I feel like I wasn't meant to find out, as sad as it was, because I did lose a lot of things in my life. 'I did struggle with a lot of things that I don't think I would have done necessarily. I think that if I'd have known before those four years ago that I had ADD, I don't know if I would have been able to have coped with it the way that I do now.' McCutcheon set up her company Raven Music Ltd in February 2017, according to Companies House records. Its last accounts filed in February 2023 showed it had assets of £272,977 including more than £211,000 in cash in the bank in February 2022. But at the same time, it had debts falling due for payment in the future for £255,693, including £110,000 in Corporation Tax and £64,790 in other HMRC payments The company faced a notice for compulsory strike off in February last year, but it was suspended two weeks later before being wound up at the request of the HMRC.
