Homeless at 16, Ruthless Women authour wrote her own rags to riches life story

AUTHOR and star agent Melanie Blake grew up in poverty but earned millions by her early twenties as a celebrity agent. She has represented 50 female stars including Colleen Nolan of Nolan sisters fame and stars of TV shows, like Emmerdale, Coronation St and Loose Women. Melanie, pictured, then wrote what she describes as her hit ‘bonkbuster’ Ruthless Women in seven weeks and made £500,000. Her much-awaited follow-up, Guilty Women, which she described as ‘darker’ than previous works, is out this week.

What did your parents teach you about money?

That I didn’t want to live like them, in poverty. My dad was a printer who gave all his money to a fanatical Christian cult. My mum was a cleaner. I grew up wearing charity shop clothes, getting food from food banks, living on benefits and free school meals. I was desperate to escape. I ended up homeless at 16 because I couldn’t live in the family home any more – it was too stressful with all my parents’ religious stuff. I moved into a squat in Manchester and got several jobs, saving all the time so I could fulfil my dream of going to London and breaking into showbusiness. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I planned on getting absolutely loads of money.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

No. From the moment I left home and arrived in London at 17, I didn’t feel like I was struggling because it had been so awful at home. I had £1,500 – I’d saved by working from the age of 12 – which felt to me like £1m. I applied for work at every single TV company I could find.

I spent a year and a half doing promotional work and getting within touching distance of celebrities.

Just as my savings were running out, I got a job as a camera assistant on Top Of The Pops. There, I befriended pop stars and actresses.

How did you make your fortune?

I got to know Claire Richards from pop band Steps and Claire King from TV series Emmerdale. They both liked my opinions about what could be done to make their careers better. They decided to make me their manager at the same time. My life changed overnight. I went from holding the cables of studio cameras to being a celebrity agent at 23. In my first week in business, I secured £100,000 of contracts for my clients. Back then, many agents sat around waiting for phone calls. They didn’t go out and find work for their clients. I took a different approach and by the end of my second year in business, I had made £1.5m profit. When I closed my agency to focus on being an author, we had generated revenues of £30m and I’d made £6m.

Have you been paid silly money?

Yes. I wrote bonkbuster Ruthless Women in seven weeks and have made half a million pounds from that.

What was the best year of your financial life?

It was 2011. I earned £800,000 as an agent. I was looking after panellists on TV show Loose Women and leading actresses from every TV soap. I worked long hours and I had no life at all. I was giving everything to my work. Then, my mum was diagnosed with cancer and died quickly. It changed my perspective, I didn’t want to work like that again.

What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

Five pieces of jewellery from Jackie Collins’ estate worth £100,000. One is a 50-carat Morganite diamond pendant which she wore when she was writing 1990 novel Lady Boss. I read all her books and she inspired me. I liked the fact that her heroines didn’t marry money, they all independent women.

Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?

No. I’ve only ever heard terrible stories about stock market investments and pensions. Besides, I’m financially secure now for the rest of my life. I could stop working today if I wanted to. I’ll never retire.

Do you own any property?

Yes, my home in Chelsea, West London, which I bought last year for £1.1m. Nobody was able to view the property during lockdown, but I knew the house, so I paid for it unseen in cash and got a bargain. I’m also planning to buy a property in Amsterdam this year for around €1m.

What is your financial priority?

To have enough money to never have to worry about it.