Joe Swash says he was ‘irresponsible’ with money during EastEnders fame
The star has faced his share of financial woes but bounced back.
Former EastEnder Joe Swash has spoken about his previous financial woes for the first time.
The actor played Mickey Miller in the BBC One soap from 2003 to 2008, returning for a couple of episodes in 2011, but hit financial crisis with bankruptcy in 2009 over unpaid tax bills.
Swash has not talked about his problems before, but his agent said at the time that he was not in any financial difficulty otherwise and when a similar problem appeared to crop up in 2013 it was later annulled as an admin error.
“I was chucking it away on stuff I didn’t need.
“I went out every night and had a house with a mortgage.
“I thought I was going to be on EastEnders for years and years.”
However, Swash’s role in the soap was cut short when he got viral meningitis which kept him off work for a year and meant he had no safety net as he was self employed.
He said: “I fell behind on tax and bills and buried my head in the sand which was the worst thing to do. I should have faced up to it.
“The second time it happened I was on TV and I felt embarrassed and wondered how I managed to get myself into the situation. But it can happen to anybody.”
