Strictly Come Dancing star and BBC presenter Ugo Monye is facing bankruptcy as he was forced to liquidate his wellness company following a £200,000 tax bill
Strictly Come Dancing star and former rugby player Ugo Monye is facing a bankruptcy petition.
The BBC presenter is an ex-rugby union player and A Question of Sport captain. He was forced to liquidate his wellness company following an unpaid tax bill of almost £200,000. Show Me The Monye Limited was given a winding-up order, which had been issued by the courts in December 2023.
A bankruptcy petition has also been filed against Monye by HMRC. The application, which was lodged with the High Court on December 4, calls for authority to be able to seize Monye’s assets in order to pay off his debts. He has been facing a tricky past few years as show A Question of Sport was axed in 2023.
The BBC had been on air since 1968 and had a rebrand in 2021. Host Sue Barker and captains, ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell and ex-rugby player Matt Dawson were replaced by presenter Paddy McGuinness, hockey placer Sam Quek and Ugo. The move was controversial as popular challenges were also ditched.
Ratings fell dramatically from 4million to around 800,000 viewers. Show bosses ultimately called time on the programme in December 2023. Ugo still works for the BBC on its Rugby Union Weekly podcast and is a pundit for TNT Sports. He appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 when he was paired with professional dancer Oti Mabuse.
When on the show, Ugo dedicated his first dance to his dad Theophilus, who died aged 81 three weeks before the competition started. Last year, the TV star revealed he had no idea his father, who lived in Nigeria, was ill before he died during the time of the Covid pandemic – and the fact he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer wasn’t passed on to his family by carers until after his death.
That decision – coupled with travel being limited during that period – meant that Ugo never got the chance to say goodbye to his father. Dad-of-two Ugo was at a friend’s book launch when he heard the “shocking” news his dad had died, but he didn’t want to leave early “in case people started asking questions”. He even had to attend his father’s funeral via Zoom due to travel restrictions to Nigeria at the time.
Strictly fans were in tears when Ugo dedicated his dance to his late dad. He said on the show: “So my dad passed away a couple of weeks ago so we had his funeral this morning. During the funeral, they spoke about today being a day of celebration – and that’s exactly how today feels. So there’s no better way of celebrating him by dancing. Tonight feels really special.” Despite a back injury, Ugo managed to make it to week five of the competition before being unanimously voted off by all four judges.
The Mirror has contacted Ugo’s representatives for comment.
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