Channel 4 presenter Matty White has opened up on a period of his life that was a far cry from his time in the TV spotlight.
The 47-year-old food and drink expert recently starred in a Sainsbury’s Christmas ad and has appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch with presenter Steph McGovern. Earlier this week he attended a Michelin awards ceremony in Manchester, meanwhile, alongside some of the world’s best chefs.
That life is worlds away from his time spent in the winter of 1993, however, which saw him homeless after leaving his parents’ house at the age of 16 for “personal and family” reasons. Then in the Midlands, Matty spent his nights sleeping on friends’ sofas, park benches, photo booths and even underneath a tarpaulin found at the end of a railway station platform.
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Eventually he came across a single mum-of-one and took on a “fatherly role” but that wasn’t the end of his woes – far from it in fact – as he recalled to the MEN.
(Image: mattyfwhite/Instagram)
“One morning I came back and found that she died from an asthma attack,” he explained. Matty then moved on from Coventry to Nottingham hoping for a change in fortunes.
“That spiralled me into depression… I was really low,” he said of his female pal’s death. Matty began sleeping rough again in his new city, until he was picked up by council workers and homeless charities.
(Image: mattyfwhite/Instagram)
“Eventually I found a hostel for under-21s, then through that, with job seekers’ hardship allowance… paid to the hostel to help me manage (the money) they would buy me a food parcel,” he continued. “They (the hostel) were helping me to budget and manage money, and cook in a shared kitchen.”
Soon he was able to afford his own one-bedroom flat through “hard graft” jobs before going back to college and studying media in Manchester. Landing a role at BBC Radio Manchester he built a successful career in the industry and is now ambassador for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
(Image: Channel 4)
“I’m in a privileged place now and love what I do,” he proudly declared. “I’ve made tons of connections through what I do and occasionally people stop and say hello… that’s a world away from feeling unloved sleeping on a park bench. I’m grateful for that every day.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
