Coronation Street actor Simon Gregson has cleared up some mystery surrounding his marital status.
Last month, the accountants who are liquidating his production company stated that Greg was estranged from his wife of 14 years.
The wording was used in official paperwork – which used the actor’s real name Simon Gregory – after the actor was ordered to pay back a £252,000 loan he took from his production firm. The papers stated that the money was “removed from the Company’s bank account and paid into Mr Gregory’s joint bank account with his estranged wife.”
This sparked people to start speculating about the state of the soap star’s marriage, which prompted sources at Corrie to insist they were still together. However, the release of new documents has been able to crack the case and reveal the truth once and for all.
An amended report was filed last week, which now states that the £252,000 sum was taken from the firm and “paid into Mr Gregory’s joint bank account with his wife.”
The star, who plays Steve McDonald in the soap, has been told to repay the cash so debts to the bank and tax office can be cleared. The number crunchers have said that if the money isn’t returned, then he will have to sell his house in three years, reports the Mirror. The study revealed that the star is paying back £1,150 of the sum a month, and he has paid back £9,000 so far.
Simon chose to liquidate his firm, Simon Gregson Productions Ltd, in 2023 as he owed £165,000 to HMRC and Coutts bank for a Covid bounce back loan. Last year, it was revealed that he was flogging his office equipment to try and pay back what he owes. Simon has played Steve since 1989 and is reportedly on a £150,000 salary, while his wife Emma runs Morley Tea Rooms in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
While trying to pay back the debts, Simon has been promoting his newest venture – a children’s book called The Dream Dragon. Speaking on Loose Women, he said: “I started it about 12 or 13 years ago because my elder two boys, Harry and Alfie, kept having night terrors.
“So, I told them that I had a dragon called the Dream Dragon, which would beat up the nightmares and scare them off, and they believed it. I had to embellish on this story often, and I was telling a couple of the ladies at work, and they said ‘You should write it down’, and 12 years later I did.”
With interest coming in from publishers, Simon is hopeful that the book will be published this year and become a money spinner.
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