CORRIE KEV BANKRUPT
Actor Le Vell goes bust owing ‘a six-figure sum’ in tax
CORONATION Street star Michael Le Vell has been declared bankrupt – owing the taxman a six-figure sum.
The actor, who plays Kevin Webster, has struggled since beating child sex charges.
The case cost him £200,000 in legal fees.
CORRIE veteran Michael Le Vell has been declared bankrupt despite earning £250,000 on Britain’s No1 soap.
The actor, who plays Kevin Webster in the Street, failed to keep on top of his tax affairs, papers seen by the Mirror show.
The latest blow follows admissions that he was an alcoholic who cheated on his wife.
HMRC were named as the petitioner in the High Court and sources have revealed the actor’s outstanding bill was “a six-figure sum”.
Le Vell, 53, forked out £200,000 in legal fees in a trial over child abuse claims in 2013.
He was found not guilty but Ministry of Justice rules prevent people who can afford their defence from receiving tax-funded paybacks after the case, meaning all of the funding came out of the star’s own pocket.
He was reportedly offered a £250,000-ayear contract last year to continue playing mechanic Kevin, the part he has played since 1983.
Reports emerged last year that the actor was facing bankruptcy after receiving a letter threatening legal action at his girlfriend’s home in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
But the Mirror
can reveal he failed to settle his affairs and the High Court declared him bust under real name Michael Robert Turner, early this year. The bankruptcy order slipped under the radar until details of the case were changed to include his stage name – Michael Le Vell – and specified he was an actor. Dad-of-two Le Vell sold his £750,000 Cheshire home after his 25-year marriage to actress Janette Beverley collapsed. And the actor has battled to turn his life around since facing child sex allegations. In September, 2013, jurors at Manchester crown court took just four hours to find him innocent of all 19 charges. But the case laid bare his private life as he admitted being an alcoholic who cheated on his wife in a string of one-night stands. His alleged victim, who wasn’t named for legal reasons, had claimed he abused her from the age of six until she was 14. But her claims were dismissed after being described as “inconsistent, incoherent and unbelievable”. Le Vell’s own barrister conceded he could be described as a “weak, stupid and drunk man” and a “bad husband”. But he told the jury the star was no child rapist or abuser. Le Vell, who currently lives with Louise Gibbons, 42, has been asked to comment.