Lorraine Kelly shares her deep regret after avoiding £1.2 million tax bill
Lorraine Kelly has said that she's got one big regret despite dodging a tax bill for an eye-watering £1.2 million.
The Scottish star, 64, who presents her own show on ITV, took the HMRC to court in 2019 after she was slapped with the bill for income tax and national insurance contributions. Ms Kelly, who has fronted her self-titled series since 2010, argued that as she is a self-employed freelancer who "presents a persona", she should not be taxed as an employee of ITV.
The judge ultimately ruled in her favour, however the mum-of-one says she didn't escape the experience unscathed. Opening up about the ordeal, the Masked Singer star said there's one thing she wishes she'd done differently.
Lorraine Kelly has presented her own show on ITV for 14 years (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking to The Times, she admitted: "We won the case, but we lost the PR battle. Looking back, I probably should have said more about it. I just thought, 'I just want to forget about that and move on.'"
During the trial, Judge Jennifer Dean said she disagreed with the argument that Lorraine simply appeared as herself, saying she was presenting a "persona". She said: "We did not accept that Ms Kelly simply appeared as herself - we were satisfied that Ms Kelly presents a persona of herself, she presents herself as a brand and that is the brand ITV sought when engaging her."
Red-faced Lorraine blindsided by raunchy texts from husband during live show
Adding further weight to her ruling, she continued: "All parts of the show are a performance, the act being to perform the role of a friendly, chatty and fun personality. Quite simply put, the programmes are entertaining, Ms Kelly is entertaining and the 'DNA' referred to is the personality, performance, the 'Lorraine Kelly' brand that is brought to the programmes. She may not like the guest she interviews, she may not like the food she eats, she may not like the film she viewed but that is where the performance lies."
The tribunal also found that Lorraine did not receive staff benefits such as holiday or sick pay and was allowed to carry out other work. The judge surmised the presenter could be classed as a "theatrical artist", which would mean any payments to an agent would also be allowed as a tax-deductible expense.
Lorraine recently branched out from her presenting role when she rocked up on stage as Owl on The Masked Singer. Taking to Instagram to post a pre-recorded video, after 'one of the best reveals on the show ever', she said: "Hi there, yes, it was me, I was Owl on The Masked Singer, congratulations if you guessed it."
The star captioned the clip with: "Did you guess it was me behind the mask?? Such fun doing @maskedsingeritv - thanks so much to all the amazing team who made it the BEST experience ever - what an amazing opportunity to sing LIVE in front of an audience on THE best entertainment show #joy #happy #owl #maskedsinger #singing #fun."
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