Matthew Kelly, 74, confesses he’s ‘s*** with money’ after losing all his Stars In Their Eyes earnings and reveals he used to drink so much cast mates nicknamed him ‘Muriel Malbec’

Matthew Kelly has confessed he’s ‘s*** with money’ and is forced to keep on working after spending all the earnings from his TV heyday.

The iconic broadcaster and actor, 74, hosted some of ITV‘s biggest shows throughout the 90s including talent series Stars In Their Eyes between 1993 until 2004 and game shows You Bet and Game For A Laugh.

Speaking on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time Matthew admitted wishing that he’d put some money aside for his old age as well as opening up about his drinking.

Saying: ‘Well, you see, luckily, the baby Jesus made me rubbish with money, so I have to keep working, which is a very good thing for me. I need to get out of the house!’.

As host Kate pointed out his ‘refreshing take’ on money, Matthew replied: ‘Well, I’m not that pleased with it, really. You know, I’m just shit at it, that’s all. You know, I would love to have a bit put by’.

The broadcaster and actor  hosted some of ITV ‘s biggest shows throughout the 90s including talent series Stars In Their Eyes between 1993 until 2004 (pictured in 1994)

He said: ‘Well, you see, luckily, the baby Jesus made me rubbish with money, so I have to keep working, which is a very good thing for me. I need to get out of the house!’

She later went on to compare Matthew to the Ant and Dec of his time and asked what happened to his fortune, or if 90s telly didn’t pay as much as people assumed.

He said: ‘Well, there was money, but it’s all gone. Well, actually, do you know what?  I did read in one article how much I was supposed to be getting per episode’. 

‘And I thought, “oh, if only!” you know. And you read it. But in actual fact, I was being paid very well. So it’s not as if you could go “excuse me, I think you’ll find that I’m only being paid a fraction of that!” but even the fraction you know was pretty good’. 

Elsewhere in the Interview Matthew discussed his past drinking and how he was seen so often with a glass in his hand cast mates nicknamed him ‘Muriel Malbec’.

He also revealed that it was Loose Women’s Denise Welch that finally inspired him to stop drinking, when they starred in a production of The Gap at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester earlier this year.

Denise, 65, has been candid about her own battles with alcohol and has now been sober for 12-years. 

Matthew shared: ‘I thought she’s [Denise] quite an inspiration, as you know. And one of the first things she tells you is how long she’s been dry. And I thought, “What? This is marvellous”. I thought “this is an ideal opportunity”.

‘I’ve got three months with this woman, and I do like a bevvy, as you know. I thought I’ll use this three months. And well, there was not a night went by that I didn’t get absolutely trashed at the bar afterwards’.

As host Kate pointed out his ‘refreshing take’ on money, Matthew replied: ‘Well, I’m not that pleased with it, really. You know, I’m just shit at it, that’s all. You know, I would love to have a bit put by’

Elsewhere in the Interview Matthew discussed his past drinking and how he was seen so often with a glass in his hand cast mates nicknamed him ‘Muriel Malbec’ (pictured 2009)

He also revealed that it was Loose Women’s Denise Welch that finally inspired him to stop drinking, when they starred in a production of The Gap at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester earlier this year

He went on: ‘But after that show, I thought I was sitting with a friend and I thought, you know what? I’ve really got to stop drinking. I said, “I’m going to stop drinking”. And he said “do you know what? I want to stop”. So I did it’.

 ‘At about ten weeks later, I rang him and I said “how are you getting on?” He said, “well, do you know, I never really stopped to be honest with you”. I said ‘”oh, that’s absolutely fine”‘.

‘So for me it’s been about it’s been more than six months. On the other hand, the company I was with before used to call me Muriel Malbec. So I thought it’s about time I changed!’.

Last year Denise has celebrated 11 years of sobriety and took to social media to reflect on her decision to give up alcohol as she marked the milestone.

She admitted her ‘disastrous’ relationship with drink affected her relationship with her husband Lincoln Townley and the lives of her sons Louis, 23, and Matty, 35, who she shares with her ex Tim Healy.

The Coronation Street actress went on to share that although going sober ‘wasn’t easy’, it completed changed her life and the lives of her loved ones.

Last year Denise has celebrated 11 years of sobriety and took to social media to reflect on her decision to give up alcohol as she marked the milestone 

The Coronation Street actress shared that although going sober ‘wasn’t easy’, it completed changed her life and the lives of her loved ones

She admitted her ‘disastrous’ relationship with alcohol affected the lives of her sons Louis, 23, and Matty, 35, (both pictured in May 2015) who she shares with her ex Tim Healy

In a poignant caption, she penned: ’11 yrs sober today!!! Giving up my disastrous relationship with alcohol changed my life, my husband’s life and my children’s lives. Plus the lives of all who love me.

‘It wasn’t easy. Addiction is a cruel and frightening illness. But together @lincolntownley and I realised that we were destroying many lives including our own and we did it. 

‘I now have a wonderful marriage that is the foundation of my life. Our kids are happy and I hope those of you struggling find the strength to stop. 

‘If alcohol no longer makes you happy, if your drinking makes others lives miserable it’s time to stop. There is help there if you need it.’

Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time is available to listen to on all podcast platforms.