Corrie Kev: I’ll bounce back from going bust
Actor tells friends he sees going bankrupt ‘as another life lesson’
CORONATION Street star Michael Le Vell has vowed to bounce back from his bankruptcy hell.
We revealed yesterday that the 53-year-old actor went bust despite earning a whopping £250,000-a-year salary.
But he has defiantly told friends: “I am going to move on from this.”
One of them revealed Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in the ITV soap, is determined to get his life back on track.
The friend said: “He sees this as another life lesson – he is not wallowing in self-pity.
“Things are on the up, he is loving work and he is not going to let this define him.
“Michael is nothing if not resilient and he will keep his head down and keep working away.”
Le Vell failed to keep on top of his tax affairs and owed HMRC “a six-figure sum”, sources have revealed.
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.
The High Court declared him bust under his real name, Michael Robert Turner, earlier this year.
But 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.
The dad of two sold his £750,000 Cheshire home after his 25-year marriage to actress Janette Beverley collapsed.
In September 2013, he was cleared of child abuse after jurors at Manchester Crown Court took just four hours to find him innocent of all 19 charges.
He had forked out £200,000 in legal fees during the trial.
Even though he was found not guilty, Ministry of Justice rules prevent people who can afford their defence from receiving tax-funded paybacks after the case, so all of the funding came out of the star’s own pocket.
But a source said: “It’s a bit of a mystery to his friends how he has found himself in such a pickle, especially as he was suspended on full pay during the trial.”
Le Vell was reportedly offered a £250,000-a-year contract last year to continue playing mechanic Kevin, the part he has played since 1983.