Cheryl Fergison’s portrayal of the loveable, George Michael-obsessed Heather Trott made the character an Eastenders favourite during her five-year stint on the soap in the late Noughties.
However, in an interview with the Sunday Mirror, the 60-year-old actress has revealed that she struggled with her finances after leaving the show and was forced to use a food bank earlier this year.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I found it so difficult to be that vulnerable,” she told the newspaper. “But I didn’t have any money to do a weekly shop. I was trying to pay too many debts.”
After telling a Citizens Advice staff member that she couldn’t afford to eat, Fergison was taken to a food bank. “I sat there and cried and cried. It was shameful. “How could I have been on Eastenders? How could I have been earning that much money and now I am here?”
Fergison’s financial woes began after she was diagnosed with womb cancer in 2015, which forced her to halt her acting career and triggered early menopause. Due to the latter, she experienced mental health problems, which led to self-harm – including pouring scalding water on herself daily to “wash” away the cancer cells.
But Fergison isn’t the only British soap star to fall on hard times once off screen. Keep reading to learn of more famous faces from British soaps that have struggled with their finances.
Martine McCutcheon
The 48-year-old became an on-screen favourite for her role as Tiffany Mitchell on Eastenders, going on to star in Christmas classic Love Actually and even enjoying a short-lived pop music career.
However in 2013 the actress declared bankruptcy, a year after her lavish Italian wedding to husband Jack McManus incurred unexpected costs that led to the couple paying thousands of pounds to the local mafia. McCutcheon was forced to sell her £25,000 engagement ring to regain funds.
“I just thought my health, money, career have all been taken from me, and now even my engagement ring – the only thing that represents what is solid in my life – has gone,” she told the Sun. In August, McCutcheon and McManus split after 18 years.
Wil Johnson
Wil Johnson appeared in Emmerdale as Dom Andrews for two years between 2012 and 2014, and left the show shortly after being declared bankrupt for a second time.
Johnson, a father of seven, first faced a bankruptcy order before joining the soap in 2010. It was reported that he was unable to face mounting unpaid debts.
Joe Swash
Joe Swash is one of the most recognisable faces from Eastenders’ Noughties era, but even he – who played Mickey Miller on the show between 2003 and 2008 – has fallen on hard times since appearing on the soap.
While Swash – who is married to Stacey Solomon – now appears to be in a better place, the 42-year-old declared bankruptcy a month after being crowned the king of the I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here jungle in 2008. “I fell behind on tax and bills and buried my head in the sand, which was the worst thing to do,” he told the Mirror. “I should have faced up to it.”
After declaring bankruptcy for a second time in 2013, telling the newspaper: “The second time it happened when I was on TV and I felt embarrassed and wondered how I managed to get myself into that situation. But it can happen to anybody.”
“I was chucking it [money] away on stuff I didn’t need. I went out every night and had a house with a mortgage.”
Ryan Thomas
Forty-year-old Corrie star Ryan Thomas is yet another soap actor to face bankruptcy, which he filed for in 2013 after being slapped with a £40,000 tax bill while still appearing as Jason Grimshaw on the soap.
In an interview with The Times, Thomas said having a credit card from a young age caused him “a few problems”, revealing that he’d even pay the bill for his friend’s nights out. Going on to call the experience a “blessing” because of what it taught him, he’s gone on to win both Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing on Ice since.
Katie Jarvis
Jarvis only appeared as Hayley Slater in Eastenders for a year, declaring that she’d taken a break from acting shortly afterwards. The 33-year-old made the front page of the Daily Star later that year when it was reported that she was working in retail security at a B&M Bargains store to financially support her young children.
The actress told Victoria Derbyshire that she was left feeling “really embarrassed” by the headlines her job made – however, a number of British TV stars including David Suchet (Poirot) and Charlie Condou (Coronation Street) jumped to her defence, sharing the everyday jobs they worked in between acting work.
Charlie Lawson
The Coronation Street actor played Jim McDonald for 11 years between 1989 and 2000, and has since made a number of appearances on the soap. Lawson first declared himself bankrupt in 2001 with debts of nearly £200,000 owed to Inland Revenue and finance firms.
Lawson opened and operated a farm shop with his wife in 2012, however the business went bust in 2018 – owing nearly £50,000 to liquidators and solicitors.
