Ryan Thomas reveals bankruptcy woes after earning £100,000 on Coronation Street at 16

Ryan Thomas, famed for his portrayal of Jason Grimshaw on ITV's Coronation Street from 2000 to 2016, has candidly discussed his financial difficulties during and after his stint on the soap.

The actor, who also made a few reality TV appearances after leaving Corrie, confessed in a recent interview that he didn't have a solid financial role model growing up.

Ryan clinched victory in Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, featured on Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip in 2022, and was crowned champion of this year's Dancing on Ice.

Now aged 40, Ryan looked back at his money management skills when he was a mere 16 years old. In a chat with The Times, he revealed: "I had money from a very young age - and for a 16-year-old I had a hell of a lot of money. So, I did have a credit card growing up and it caused me a few problems."

He admitted that he can't remember the extent to which he neglected his finances, but he does recall consistently being late with repayments, leading to a debt he wasn't conscious of. Young Ryan would even pick up the tab for his mates' nights out, resulting in him splurging more than he should have.

Digging deeper into his financial troubles, Ryan disclosed that he declared bankruptcy in 2013 due to an outstanding tax bill, which he chalks up to pure negligence, reports the Mirror.

However, he doesn't regret his past mistakes, stating: "But I don't regret any of the things that happened to me because I actually feel like they've been a real blessing. I've learnt so much and I don't think to myself, "Oh, I did this, I did that," because I'm the sort of guy who takes a day at a time anyway."

"I don't really think about too much into the future and during that time I was earning anyway, so it wasn't like I was jobless. I just lost everything and started again," he elaborated.