Mel Giedroyc has detailed the “financial hiccup” 16 years ago which saw her family “lose everything” and served as inspiration for her latest book.
The 53-year-old comedian appeared on ITV ’s Loose Women to discuss the riches to rags novel based on her own experience when her daughters Florence and Vita were just one and two-years-old.
Mel told the panellists on the daytime show how she had bought a big house with husband Ben Morris, borrowing a “stupid amount of money” on the back of securing a lucrative advertising campaign alongside comedy partner Sue Parkins.
She said: “I thought it was brilliant, four days of work a year,” and Carol McGiffin replied: “You thought it would turn into the crisp thing with another person and it didn’t.”
Mel replied saying “Exactly”, but added that they only made three of the adverts and it “didn’t last long”.
Host Kaye Adams weighed in, saying: “I remember that time and I remember seeing those adverts on television and I was thinking, They’ve made it. That’s it - and I was jealous.”
Mel continued: “They don’t give you any preparation for sacking you. I remember getting a letter through the door and it just said you’re not needed anymore.
“It was like the whole bottom of your world fell. We had to sell our house, but it was at the time when it was difficult to sell it. I’m not complaining - there are many many people in far worse situations.”
She continued: “We rented a flat. We called it the 70s love nest - it was full velvet and corduroy and we paid our rent in cash to a bloke up the A1.
“Never happier - no mortgage, we put all our stuff in storage. I’m not saying it’s wonderful to have to do this. It’s a shocker, but I hope we learnt from it and made the best of it.”
Kaye asked what Mel learned from the experience and she said: “When I phoned my mum to tell her the news that we’d lost everything, she just said, Melanie, you’ll have to learn how to cut your cloth. So I’ve learnt how to live within your means.”
The former Great British Bake Off presenter now lives in West London with her husband Ben Morris and their two daughters - but had to escape to the nearby library to write her book, which is a Sunday Times bestseller.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV
