Astonishing rise and fall of scandal-hit bra tycoon Michelle Mone to feature in bombshell new BBC doc
THE BBC is making a documentary about lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone – and it’s looking like a warts-and-all affair.
The show will tell how the former model from the East End of Glasgow became a multi-millionaire in the predominantly male world of business.
But it will also cover how Baroness Mone, who founded the Ultimo push-up bra in 1999, also became mired in a personal protective equipment (PPE) scandal following the Covid crisis.
Simon Young, Head of Commissioning, History, at the BBC said: “It’s still unclear where this story will end, but there’s no better time to go back to understand where it all began.
“It will reveal the foundations of one of the most astonishing stories in the recent history of British business.”
The Rise And Fall Of Michelle Mone, which is expected to air early next year, will look at how, throughout the Nineties, she grew her underwear empire and came to embody the entrepreneurial spirit of the day.
She became such a high-profile figure in the industry that she was made a baroness in 2015.
But her reputation was severely dented five years later with the arrival of the Covid pandemic, during which time she used her membership of the House of Lords to use a “VIP fast lane” to recommend a company called PPE Medpro to supply protective equipment to the Government.
For three years she and her husband Doug Barrowman publicly denied any involvement with the company, which was subsequently accused by the Government of supplying faulty PPE.
£60million profit
Then, in a high-profile BBC interview, Baroness Mone later conceded she had lied to the press about her and Doug’s involvement in PPE Medpro, and that the couple stood to benefit from a £60million profit made on the deal.
The series will hear from many of those who witnessed her rise and fall, including friends, former colleagues and advisors, journalists and lawyers involved in her story.
BANISH all memories of smooth John Nettles because the new Bergerac looks far grittier.
The trailer for the crime series reboot shows the detective, now played by Damien Molony, looking like a broken man with “something to prove”. The show drops in February on U&DRAMA.
RUTH ON HO MUCH MONEY
LOOSE WOMEN host Ruth Langsford is laughing all the way to the bank.
Accounts for her telly firm Hey Ho Ltd reveal she paid herself a whopping £770,000 dividend last year. This works out at a more than respectable £2,110 a day.
The presenter’s business is now sitting on £1.35million of reserves – which makes her one of the best-paid daytime earners on television.
While Ruth has coined in a fair few quid in the last 12 months, she made even more the previous year.
That’s when she gave herself a £2,285,000 payout.
So I’m guessing the drinks will be on her the next time the Loose Women gang are down the pub.
Ruth, who was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, has made increasing telly appearances recently, including on ITV2’s I’m A Celebrity spin off, Unpacked, which saw her jet Down Under to offer her thoughts on the jungle campmates.