A BIG Brother winner has revealed that he is struggling to pay his bills – despite claiming the show’s massive prize prize.
Luke Anderson won the popular series in 2012 and raked in £50,000 – but now can’t keep up with the energy bills at his Welsh bakery as prices spiral.
Big Brother winner Luke Anderson has written online about his struggles with the cost of living crisis
Luke won £50,000 on the show in 2012
His business, Cravin’, in Mold, North Wales with his wife Jamie-Lee last year.
Amid the cost of living crisis, they have seen the shop’s energy bills soar from £400 to £1,600 per month.
This means he’ll have to earn around £50 a day just to cover energy costs.
The dad-of-two took to social media to express his shock, saying that rapid inflation will make high streets “empty and soulless” as businesses struggle to keep up.
He wrote on Twitter: “To say we were shocked is an understatement. The general consensus with local small business owners is that the government doesn’t care about us family run shops.
“Very soon the high street will be empty and soulless because people would rather spend money in Starbucks or Costa.”
He added that when they got the bill they thought it “must have been a typo”.
The 41-year-old won £50,000 when host Brian Dowling announced his victory in Big Brother 2012.
He beat out runner-up Adam Kelly to claim the prize.
At the time he said: “It’s great to feel acceptance and I don’t think its sunk it yet.”
Originally South African but raised in Wales, he opened the business in his local community last year.
In his tweets he also made sure to address the aspects of the price crisis away from energy, writing: “Not only are the energy prices surging, we are also contending with the cost of butter doubling, flour and egg prices are soaring too. We are determined to keep our prices fair for our customers.
“We have a tariff that is lower at [certain times] so I will have to resort to baking late into the evening instead of early mornings.”
He even suggested he may have to use candles to light the shop in extreme circumstances.
His bakery will have to make around £50 a day just to cover energy costs
