Thomas Skinner, known for appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, hasn’t paid back a £50,000 loan meant to help businesses during the Covid pandemic. This is despite him previously claiming his company made ‘millions’ in revenue during that time.
A businessman from Essex, known for being on the TV show The Apprentice with Lord Sugar, is causing a stir on Strictly Come Dancing. His time on the show has been dominated by recent news that he was unfaithful to his wife, Sinead.
He’s now under further scrutiny regarding his company’s financial dealings, as it’s been revealed one of his businesses applied for a government loan in 2020.
According to the Daily Mirror, the Fluffy Pillow Company never repaid the loan it received five years ago, and there’s no record of any payment being made.
Thomas stated that his company, along with another firm called Bosh Beds, both financially benefited from the pandemic in the UK.
In his autobiography, he explained that his company expanded rapidly after he finished appearing on *The Apprentice*. This growth was significantly boosted by high demand during the pandemic, a time when many people had disposable income and more leisure time.
The government loan program was created to help small businesses struggling due to the Covid pandemic.
The Fluffy Pillow Company requested the full loan amount of £50,000. Thomas explained that his business had been generating £200,000 in revenue annually.
According to the loan agreement, the company was supposed to begin repayments after a year, but we haven’t found any evidence of payments being made. The accounts from 2021 and 2022 both show a £50,000 debt still outstanding.
Companies House have since issued four notices to liquidate the firm with the outstanding debt.
Thomas explained that he’d recently moved into a new house and purchased a car. He was then faced with needing to find £1000 each month to cover the car payments.
Things were progressing nicely, but then everything abruptly stopped. I realized I had a baby coming and worried about how I would manage.
Bosh Beds was reportedly ‘taking £130,000 pound a week in sales, by 2021, and had 14 staff.
Thomas described a period of unexpected success during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he was consistently closing large deals – around a million pounds each – every few months. He called it a ‘crazy’ time.
In December 2021, he claimed to have made over £1.8 million in one year with his company, BOSH BEDS.
Thomas explained in a recent interview that the business collapsed when the first lockdown began in March 2020, even though they continued to update their social media page until December of that year.
When questioned about losing his company so suddenly, he admitted, “Yes… I had been withdrawing a significant amount of money and wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Daily Mail has contacted Thomas’ representatives for comment.
Recent reports from the show’s set indicate that producers are having difficulty managing Thomas, a contestant known for causing controversy.
Earlier this month, Thomas abruptly left a press conference. This happened while questions were being raised about his appearance on a popular BBC show, following his admission that he was unfaithful to his wife, Sinead, shortly after they got married.
I was pretty surprised to see some criticism online when photos surfaced of him at a barbeque hosted by JD Vance, who’s Vice President now. He explained it as a really unique opportunity, a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience, but it still drew some negative attention, apparently because of his political views.
Thomas is facing backlash for comments he made on X, where he defended displays of national pride and expressed concerns about safety in London. He claimed the city feels ‘hostile’ and ‘tense’, and argued it’s not extreme to ‘fly your flag and love your country’.
Sources say Strictly Come Dancing producers are facing a difficult situation due to the contestant’s recent activity on social media.
Because he isn’t employed by the BBC, there’s little they can do about what he posts on social media, beyond requesting his management team to speak with him – and even that might not happen, according to a source.
As someone who watches these shows closely, I’ve learned that people often get hooked on personalities who stir things up. So, while Thomas might be causing drama, I don’t see him going home anytime soon – viewers tend to give controversial contestants a long look, especially in the beginning.
They also believe pairing him with a popular professional dancer on Strictly will help him succeed.
According to a source, he doesn’t seem likely to be eliminated early and might last a long time in the competition. The source believes the strong support Amy receives will be a significant advantage for him.
Following his first appearance on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, Thomas took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend himself. He stated he wouldn’t be ‘cancelled’ and affirmed his marriage is solid, despite recently admitting to infidelity just a few weeks after getting married in 2022.
He posted a long and emotional message, saying he felt under attack but was becoming more resilient.
He admitted life has been tough lately, saying he’s faced criticism and made mistakes. Things really took off, though, after he was invited to a barbecue with JD Vance.
I’m being targeted by people online who are trying to harm my reputation. It’s mostly anonymous accounts being aggressive and insulting, and they’re often hypocritical, twisting things into political issues.
It’s ironic that people are upset about me being on Strictly, especially since so many of them have ‘be kind’ written in their online profiles. You really can’t believe what you’re seeing!
Thomas added that his strong work ethic meant he was able to ignore the controversy and ‘graft’.
He stated firmly that he wouldn’t be silenced or broken by criticism. He made it clear he had no intention of harming himself, despite what some might wish, and that he was continuing to persevere.
Believe me when I say this: I’m more resilient than most people realize. Instead of breaking me down, every insult, lie, and attack actually makes me stronger.
I started with absolutely nothing and built everything myself. For years, I didn’t even have a bedroom and slept on a sofa bed on the floor. It’s frustrating to see inaccurate information about my background appear on Wikipedia, but they can’t diminish what I’ve achieved through hard work and determination. People call me a con artist, but I just work tirelessly, day in and day out.
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2025-09-25 10:35