Cliff: I robbed a bank... get me out of here
ACTOR REVEALS HIS JAIL SHAME
I’M a Celebrity star Cliff Parisi today admits he was jailed for robbing a bank when he was just 19.
Cliff, 59, was sentenced to 18 months for his part in the raid.
He was living in North London at the time and some gang members were believed to have been armed.
Cliff, who played Minty in Eastenders and now stars as Fred Buckle in Call the Midwife, says: “At the age of 19, I went off the rails and got involved with a bank robbery and was jailed for 18 months.
“During my incarceration I spent my time learning how to read and write properly. And after my release I pursued my acting career with vigour and have been lucky enough to work professionally in acting for over 30 years. This has hung over me like a black cloud. It was a massive mistake that I made and I deeply regret it.
“I am relieved it is now out and I hope that people will find it in their hearts to forgive me. No one regrets it more than I do. I also hope it inspires young men in jail not to give up hope, it is possible to get your life back on track again.”
Cliff’s criminal past from
1979 has never been revealed. A source who knew him said: “He became friends with this group doing really dodgy things.
When they robbed the bank some were armed. One went to prison for quite a long time.”
Cliff was introduced to acting through a jail rehabilitation scheme. He changed his name from Manley to Parisi to make a fresh start and worked his way to stardom first as a stand-up comic and then in TV shows like Chancer and Kavanagh QC.
The source continued: “He is very grateful he was given a second chance at life. He has always worked very hard and is hugely sorry about what happened.”
Cliff was raised in Crouch End, North London, after a traumatic start to life.
Survived
He was only months old when parents Irene and George were kicked out of their home in London’s East End. Their childless landlady cooked up a scheme to “buy” Cliff and his year-old sister in exchange for rent. Irene and George refused.
The family slept in a park before social services took the kids into care. They were later returned to the couple.
Cliff’s dad George Manley recalled how tough it was. He said: “Life was very hard in those days. Things were tough. We lived in one room in Crouch End. You survived like everyone else.”
Cliff is married to BBC production assistant Tara Wyer and they live in Highgate, North London. They have a son, three, and Cliff also has three grown-up kids from previous
relationships.