How Strictly’s Popular Dancers have actually Wound Up In Debt

For viewers tuning into BBC’s megahit Strictly Come Dancing, they would be ideal in presuming that its stars need to be earning a large fortune.

Whether it be the vigorous hours of training, or being an on-screen component for weeks on end, the program’s expert dancers have assisted make the series a fascinating watch throughout the autumn months.

However, while it has been presumed that Strictly specialists must earn a pretty penny, and years of success, through their time on the program, for most it’s a completely different story.

Pros who have actually bid goodbye to the Strictly dancefloor in recent years have shared their struggles with stacking financial obligations and cash problems, with some even facing the prospect of losing their homes.

Recently, Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff end up being the most recent stars to be hit by the notorious ‘Strictly curse’ after their 12-year romance ended in heartbreak. MailOnline then exposed it was the extreme financial troubles they had recently experienced are believed to have lagged their split.

MailOnline peels back the shine behind Strictly stars’ incomes to reveal the fact about how for lots of, the cash stops as soon as the ballroom lights go dark …

Kristina Rihanoff

How Strictly’s popular dancers have ended up in financial obligation – as Kristina Rihanoff’s financial difficulties are blamed for split from Ben Cohen (envisioned on the show in 2013)

Kristina previously appeared on Strictly as an expert from 2008 to 2015, making headlines when she began a love with her celebrity partner Ben Cohen.

However, in 2015, the couple shared fears that they might lose their home after being struck by cash woes, with Ben laying bare their monetary concerns in court.

The extent of the couple’s battles were laid bare in uncommon scenarios – during a court appearance last September when Kristina, 47, was captured driving without insurance coverage.

Giving proof throughout the case, England World Cup winning rugby star Ben, 46, admitted he had mishandled the handling of their vehicle insurance plan and informed how he was ‘combating to save his relationship and home’.

A buddy of the couple told the Mail he stated: ‘The previous six months have been hell for them and it has actually torn the love they had apart. For the sake of their family, they have chosen to go forward as different people.

‘Those near to them who understand them as a couple had actually hoped they would have the ability to work things out but for now it’s over and it appears like there’s no going back.’

The couple were entrusted crippling financial obligations after they tilled every penny they had into a yoga studio which plunged into crisis during the Covid pandemic.

In a tortuously frank admission Ben told the court: ‘I get up every day and I combat not to lose whatever – to lose my automobiles and my house and my relationship. I’m so overdrawn.’

Last year the couple shared fears that they could lose their home after being struck by cash issues, with Ben laying bare their monetary issues in court (envisioned in 2021)

When questioned about the stress on his and Kristina’s relationship, he said: ‘We’re still cohabiting. We’re in it economically.

‘We’re in company together so the problem is that we opened the organization before Covid and we got the worst intensities of it and in all honestly this is simply another issue for me to deal with.

‘I’ve got charge card that are overdrawn. I’m overdrawn in both accounts. We have actually got a service financial obligation due to the fact that of Covid. It’s just another issue.’

The business was noted to be compulsorily struck off on December 27, 2022, however the action was suspended 9 days later on and discontinued on April 28, 2023.

Records also expose that a food services company called Soo Greens Ltd which is 100 per cent owned by Soo Yoga Group Ltd was successfully ₤ ۶,۶۳۳ at a loss, taking into account future liabilities, in its last represent the duration ending on July 31, 2020.

The business’s represent the year ending in July 2021 have actually still not been submitted and are now nearly 29 months past due.

Another company called Soo Purple Mountain Ltd which is likewise owned by the Soo Yoga Group, was established in December 2021 and liquified by a voluntary strike off in February this year without ever submitting accounts.

A 4th company called Soo Group Ltd which was half owned by Cohen and half owned by 3 other individuals was likewise incorporated and voluntarily struck off on the same dates.

A 5th business called Yoga Wellbeing which is 100 percent owned by Rihanoff was ₤ ۵,۰۴۱ at a loss, taking into consideration future liabilities, at the end of July 2020. Its accounts are also almost 29 months overdue, according to Companies House records.

AJ Pritchard

AJ initially rose to popularity as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing from 2016 to 2019, leaving the show simply months before the Covid pandemic (visualized with Saffron Barker in 2019)

But AJ has given that clarify the cash woes some Strictly stars can deal with, and shared that he was plunged into financial obligation when his dance tour was cancelled in 2020

AJ first increased to fame as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing from 2016 to 2019, leaving the program simply months before the Covid pandemic.

While the star had actually formerly hoped to kickstart a brand-new age of dance success by departing the show, the pandemic forced him to cancel his planned dance tour, plunging himself and brother Curtis into financial obligation.

Talking to MailOnline, AJ shed light on the cash troubles some Strictly stars can face after leaving the show.

He said: ‘We had a company where we were running our own trip and the tour was cut brief. We paid all of our dancers since, personally, I felt like that was the right thing to do. We ended up with a barrel bill which came out of our own pocket.

‘We didn’t get paid, myself or Curtis, however we paid all of our dancers. It’s a hard decision to be made, however that’s what it is when you are running your own company.

‘They definitely did appreciate it. I maybe didn’t appreciate the debt that I was left in however, hi, it’s a decision that was made.’

AJ stated it is hard when a lot of his pals believe he’s a ‘millionaire’ after starring on Strictly, however, he described that after they paid their taxes and VAT, the figure he earns is nowhere near that.

The dancer said: ‘I think a great deal of people expect you to go on to Strictly or Love Island and immediately be a millionaire. Once you have actually paid your tax and your VAT, and if you’re a minimal company, that’s not even close.

‘I think openness is a positive thing in this day and age, but many people do not actually wish to discuss their financial resources.

‘And I believe individuals are fascinated by money. People like to see numbers and like to see great things, and a great deal of times you need to live within your own ways.’

After leaving shows such as Strictly and Love Island, Curtis and AJ were thrown into a variety of big cash deals and AJ states some individuals have no idea how to deal with that type of sum of cash.

Former I’m A Celeb star AJ exposed he and Curtis ‘wish to make a difference’ and have set up ‘using our own cash’ a monetary investment business called FINT to help to ‘educate’ individuals.

AJ ended up being extremely open about how often the TV bookings and photoshoots can all of a sudden stop and stars have to learn how to ‘adjust’ their career.

AJ said it is hard when a great deal of his friends think he’s a ‘millionaire’ after starring on Strictly, as after they paid their taxes and VAT, the figure he makes is no place near that

He continued: ‘It’s actually tough I think in our market, the home entertainment industry and a great deal of other industries right now since a lot of people are being laid off. It does use your mental health if you do not have that next job.

‘Myself and Curtis have actually invested cash, from my extremely first pay check on Strictly I have actually constantly had actually that money invested into different portfolios. Therefore, if I didn’t have a job in 6 months time, I do have cash there that I can make use of if I need it.

‘And at the end of the day, there are always jobs out there. It’s just sometimes having to change what it is you believe you are going to do and adjust a little bit. Adapting is hard however you do need to adjust sometimes.

‘It is essential that individuals enter into these huge programs that they’re delighting in however they have a profession behind them like myself and Curt. We’re both expert dancers, we can go all over the world and teach.’

Every day, individuals are dealing with the expense of living crisis and AJ admitted he is no various and is frequently snapped back into the ‘genuine world’ as he’s discovered the dramatic boost in daily products.

He described: ‘Each and every single day I’m reminded truth. I brought up at the fuel pump today and the diesel was 10p more costly due to choices that have been made much higher up than my income. That’s the real life.

‘I resembled, ‘What 10p more costly from the other day to today’, like that’s insane. I think people forget, the cost of living and inflation’s gone up.

‘Even when inflation boils down, it does not suggest that it returns to what it was. Life is going to be tough for a great deal of individuals this year and I do not think it’s going to get any simpler.’

Robin Windsor

Despite drawing in an ₤ ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ as a star of Strictly, Robin Windsor tragically died with simply ₤ ۸۷۹ in his business’s organization account

Despite drawing in an impressive ₤ ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ as a star of Strictly, Robin Windsor tragically died with simply ₤ ۸۷۹ in his business’s service account.

The dancer was found dead in a London hotel in February in 2015, and in the wake of his passing it was exposed his company had not traded for some time and according to Companies House Records was facing an ‘active proposal’ to be struck off.

The business Happy Feet Creative Limited was owed practically ₤ ۵,۰۰۰ the last time it submitted accounts, but owed lenders ₤ ۱۵,۰۰۰, suggesting it was ₤ ۸,۳۵۰ in the red.

At the height of his celebrity in 2015 and 2016 he held more than ₤ ۲۳,۰۰۰ in the company and advanced himself ₤ ۳۵,۰۰۰ from the business, which was paid back.

The business had actually funnelled earnings from a ‘broad variety of agreements to provide performing arts services within the media market’, documents stated.

In the months prior to his death, Robin had been dealing with a Fred Olsen Cruise – alongside fellow Strictly professional Gordana Grandosek Whiddon – and published images of himself when the boat docked in South Africa.

Robin previously informed how he was paid ₤ ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ a year during his time on Strictly which came to an end after the 12th series in 2014.

The dancer was found dead in a London hotel in February, and in the wake of his passing it was exposed his company had actually not traded for a long time (pictured on the program in 2013)

He also recalled one time he earned ‘silly money’, informing This Is Money: ‘My dance partner and I were when paid ₤ ۱۰,۰۰۰ each to remain in a high-end resort in Mauritius for a week and dance the cha-cha-cha at an occasion. Our dance lasted two minutes.’

He remembered in September 2022 that the ‘best’ year of his financial life was 2010, ‘my very first year on Strictly Come Dancing’.

He said: ‘Suddenly, I was generating income I had actually only dreamt about. I most likely made about ₤ ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ that year – not simply from Strictly but from work off the back of the program such as the tour and private performances.

‘When you’re on prime-time TV, everybody wants a little piece of you.’

Discussing his Strictly exit, Robin stated he ended up being so ‘bitter’ about not being allowed to return that he could not bear to see it, and he entered into a ‘consistent decline’ after leaving the program.

Graziano Di Prima

Graziano was considerably sacked by employers last year following claims of gross misbehavior towards his previous celeb partner Zara McDermott

Following his departure from the show, Graziano attempted to cash on his appearances on the program, with personalised video messages on Cameo

Graziano was once considered a preferred among Strictly fans, however in 2015 he was significantly sacked by bosses following claims of gross misconduct towards his previous celeb partner Zara McDermott.

The dancer later validated and regretted his actions versus Zara.

Addressing his exit from the show, a ‘ravaged’ Di Prima wrote on Instagram: ‘I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing rich list: The professional dancers waltzing all the method to the bank after making MILLIONS thanks to the program

‘My extreme passion and decision to win may have affected my training regime.

‘While respecting the BBC HR procedure, I acknowledge it’s just ideal for the sake of the program that I step away. I am saddened that I wasn’t allowed to use a quote to the online newspaper article, and I take on board the level of sensitivity of the circumstance.

‘There’s more to this story that I am unable to talk about at this time, however I am devoted to being strong for my friends and family. I want the Strictly household absolutely nothing however success in the future.’

Following his departure from the show, Graziano tried to cash on his appearances on the program, with personalised video messages on Cameo.

The dancer charged $100 (₤ ۷۸) for a video message, and continued to describe himself as a ‘expert dancer on Strictly’ on his profile.

And the stars who have cashed in on their Strictly success …

Oti Mabuse

For many fans, Oti is considered among Strictly’s most effective exports, with the dancer crowned series champ for two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020

Since then, she has actually looked like a judge on Dancing On Ice, and likewise earned a reported ₤ ۲۰۰,۰۰۰ cost for her stint on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! last year

For numerous fans, Oti is thought about among Strictly’s most effective exports, with the dancer crowned series champ for two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020.

The dancer was reported to be on a ₤ ۴۱۰,۰۰۰ salary before she left the show in 2022, and since her exit has amassed a big fortune with a string of successful TV gigs.

Since then, she has actually looked like a judge on Dancing On Ice, and was also a panellist on The Masked Dancer, and BBC’s The best Dancer, contributing to a rumoured fortune of more than ₤ ۱.۴ million.

Before joining the Strictly lineup, Oti likewise worked as a professional dancer on Strictly’s German equivalent, Let’s Dance.

Oti is listed as a director of Pure Mabuse Limited, which she established with her hubby Marius Iepure, which was established in February 2017, and has actually listed properties of ₤ ۵۱۰,۹۵۳, according to its latest accounts.

In 2022, Oti likewise signed a big-money offer to team up with Bravissimo on a ‘confidence increasing’ underclothing variety, and she and husband Marius also share a ₤ ۵۹۰,۰۰۰ London mansion.

Between them, Oti and Marius hold ₤ ۷۵۰,۰۰۰ of possessions in 4 private business, which they co-own. consisting of the property company, Lionshead, which notched up ₤ ۱۱۰,۵۸۲ in assets since last year.

And Oti has just contributed to her fortune in recent months by appearing on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! where she was apparently paid a ₤ ۲۰۰,۰۰۰ fee.

Kevin Clifton

Kevin Clifton was crowned Strictly champ in 2018 with Stacey Dooley, and after leaving the show in 2020, has moneyed in with a string of stage functions

However, the dancer has formerly shared that it hasn’t always been easy, revealing in 2019 that he used to oversleep his automobile while attempting to kickstart his carrying out career

Since leaving Strictly in 2020, Kevin Clifton has actually required to the phase, carrying out in Strictly Ballroom, Rock of Ages and War of the Worlds.

His firm Supreme Dance declared ₤ ۱۰۴,۹۹۳ in its latest assets with ₤ ۴۲,۲۳۴ remaining after bills.

However, the dancer has actually previously shared that it hasn’t always been easy, exposing in 2019 that he utilized to sleep in his cars and truck while attempting to start his carrying out profession, while managing it with an office job.

Speaking on his podcast The Kevin Clifton Show, he said: ‘If there’s nobody there, I’ll sleep in my car and after that I can pay for 2 of my dance lessons tomorrow.

‘I invested loads of time oversleeping my cars and truck – essentially living out of my vehicle – and having no work. It’s not all glamour. People believe we live these simple, showbiz, glamorous lives and it’s not like that.

‘There’s been times where I was simply getting fired from job after task – normal office jobs, just trying to sustain my dancer career.

‘I was generally searching in my wallet going, I’ve just been fired from another task. I have actually got 4 lessons tomorrow; I already can’t pay for two of them.

‘I’m going to have to blag it with the teacher and state,” Oh, there’s been a problem at the bank. I’m going to need to provide you the cash on my next lesson.” James and Ola Jordan

Business: James and Ola Jordan have cashed in on their joint weight loss over the last few years, establishing a physical fitness website called Dance Shred where they charge ₤ ۱۲.۹۹ monthly to subscribe

James Jordan left Strictly in 2013 with his better half Ola following match 2 years lateer.

James has actually appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, returned a couple of years later for the All Stars version and won Dancing On Ice in 2019.

The couple have actually capitalized their joint weight loss over the last few years, establishing a physical fitness site called Dance Shred where they charge ₤ ۱۲.۹۹ each month to subscribe.

The pair offered their Kent estate for ₤ ۲.۵ million earlier this year and have actually considering that downsized to a home more ‘appropriate’ for their daughter Ella.

Much of their income is funnelled through their firm James and Ola Dance Academy which most recently had ₤ ۷۷۴,۰۲۳ in possessions and ₤ ۴۶۵,۰۰۲ after expenses.

They make additional money by selling signed images for ₤ ۹.۵۰ while Ola offers dance lessons to fans at ₤ ۳۰۰ a pop.

Strictly Come DancingBen CohenBBC