Corrie Kev mone y hell ‘be g an after break-u p ’
CORONATION Street star Michael Le Vell let his finances spiral out of control after his divorce, pals claim.
The Mirror this week revealed the actor was declared bankrupt despite earning £250,000 a year as Kevin Webster on the ITV1 soap.
Wife Janette Beverley looked after the money in their 25-year mar-riage but Le Vell failed to keep on top of tax after their 2011 split. A friend said: “She controlled the purse strings so kept him in line. Now he’s on his own it has all spiralled out of control.”
HMRC was the petitioner in High Court bankruptcy proceedings over what friends said was “a six-figure sum”.
Le Vell, 53, spent £200,000 in legal fees in a trial over child abuse claims in 2013. He was cleared but earned too much to be entitled to get his fees back from the public purse.
It laid bare his private life as he admitted being an alcoholic who cheated on actress Janette, 52, whom he met on Corrie.
Le Vell, who now lives with Louise Gibbons, 42, is said to be desperate for a “gritty new storyline” in the ITV soap.
The pal said: “He wants something big to get his teeth into that will also help distract attention away from his personal life.
“He won’t let this define him.”