Bobby Davro lost his home and car after his business went bust with nearly £90,000 debts due to the pandemic.
The telly comic, who played Vinnie Monks in EastEnders and starred in Dancing On Ice, admitted last year (2021) he did not know how he was going to pay the bills and was forced to take out a Government bounce-back loan.’
Now Daily Star can reveal the extent of Davro’s plight after Covid forced the cancellation of TV and live shows.
The final liquidator’s report for his entertainment company Orvad Enterprises Ltd (corr) – which was wound up in October – lifts the lid on his financial plight.
The company owed £89,909 to creditors including £32,100 to HM Revenue & Customs in corporation tax and PAYE and £49,177 to NatWest in loans and a £7,296 overdraft.
“There is no work”,the 63-year-old stand-up said last year.
“I only did four gigs last year. I can’t earn anything. I haven’t been able to earn money for a year. It’s dreadful.”
The new report stated Davro was “out of work” as the “entertainment industry was totally shut.
It said he had taken out a bounce-back loan of up to £50,000 to help keep himself afloat.
The star – real name Robert Nankeville – had been forced to sell his home and car and hand over nearly £10,000 from the company’s bank account to pay off debts.
Liquidator Ashok Bhardwaj, who examined two years of bank statements covering ‘the pandemic period’, said he had been unable to sell off company equipment with a book value of £6,700 as it was ‘very old and carried no value’.
He said Davro had “spent part” of his bounce-back loan “on living and paying his creditors”.
Mr Bhardwaj said: “He also sold his personal property and injected £59,000 into the company to pay off the creditors.’”
Assets had been swallowed up in financial fees and there was nothing left for creditors.
The liquidator said the case “did not warrant further investigation”.
Orvad Enterprises Ltd was put into a creditor’s voluntary liquidation last October which means the director has admitted he cannot pay the company’s debts.
The firm’s last filed accounts revealed it had just £137 in net assets up to 30 September 2018.
Davro said it was a myth all stars were rich – especially following Covid.
“People think if you’re a celebrity and you’re famous that you have got millions of pounds and you can survive,” he said.
“They think, ‘It’s all right for you, you’ve got so much money’, Well that’s not the case. It’s not the case at all.’”
TV star Davro has said the lack of work since Covid struck had affected his wellbeing.
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“Not only have I lost my income I’ve lost the thing I love,” he said.
“It’s depressing to have that taken away from you. I can’t go out there and do what I love.
“We are all in the same boat — all the comedians, all the theatre actors and the hospitality industry.
“Sadly not everybody could be helped.’”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk