Matthew Kelly, 74, says he's 'forced to keep working' after blowing all his cash
While he shot to TV fame by fronting some of ITV's biggest shows in the 1990's, Matthew Kelly revealed that he had spent all of his earnings, forcing him to work in his old age.
Though he will celebrate his 75th birthday in 2025, Matthew Kelly is in no financial shape to think about retiring as he admitted he had blown all his cash.
After his shy beginnings on stage, the 74-year-old presenter shot to fame by hosting some of ITV 's biggest programmes as he fronted Stars In Their Eyes between 1993 and 2004 and game shows in the likes of You Bet and Game For A Laugh. Once he left our screens, Matthew Kelly then returned to acting full-time.
However, despite bagging a string of roles, the former TV star admitted that his finances were not in good shape as he'd spent the entirety of his TV earnings.
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During a chat on Kate Thornton 's podcast White Wine Question Time, Matthew said that, despite his age, he will continue to work as a result. "Well, you see, luckily, the baby Jesus made me rubbish with money, so I have to keep working, which is a very good thing for me. I need to get out of the house", he said.
Though Kate was impressed by his view on money, Matthew argued he wasn't as keen: "Well, I'm not that pleased with it, really. You know, I'm just s*** at it, that's all. You know, I would love to have a bit put by." Which prompted Kate to compare him to golden TV duo Ant and Dec, before asking him what he had done with all his Stars In Their Eyes cash.
"Well, there was money, but it's all gone", he bluntly confessed, before referring to previous rumours about his salary to set the record straight about his true earnings. "Well, actually, do you know what? I did read in one article how much I was supposed to be getting per episode."
"And I thought, 'oh, if only!' you know. And you read it. But in actual fact, I was being paid very well. So it's not as if you could go, 'excuse me, I think you'll find that I'm only being paid a fraction of that!' But even the fraction, you know, was pretty good."
As mentioned, Matthew Kelly has had years of experience on the box but, much like any other TV star, he has also experienced mishaps behind the scenes. Matthew Kelly most notably revealed that he was nearly killed by a falling disco ball during his time at the helm of Stars In Their Eyes.
Matthew recalled that the near-fatal incident took place as one contestant of the karaoke competition was rehearsing their number. "As I stepped on to stage, this giant mirror ball fell from the ceiling and smashed into a million pieces at exactly the spot where I would have been standing two seconds later."
He continued: " It would have killed me. We were all dismissed from the studio. I said, imagine the papers the next day: 'Matthew Kelly killed in terrible glitterball tragedy. It’s the way he would have wanted to go.'"
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