Welcome back, you gorgeous bunch!
So, this month’s blog has a bit of a different tone. It’s a little deeper and offers some insight into parts of my past I have tried to explore in many ways. So strap in because it’s also a little longer than usual. I think worth the read but I’ll let you decide.
I don’t know if anyone is watching I’m a Celeb this year, but I am. Thanks to my friend Tammie, who suggested we all watch it and has NOT watched a single episode after number one! But that’s beside the point, haha!
I’m bang into it this year! I think the casting has been top-tier; they all get on so well-it’s a boss watch! Obviously, I’m a Scouser!!!! So it’s Colleen for the win! This might be one of the first times I’ve been repeatedly watching a Scouser on TV and not been cringing off the accent. I don’t know about you’s, but I feel like they always find the Scousest Scouser to represent Us, and they always make us sound like a gang of meffs. Hahahahaha!
So, I’m a celeb. something on it triggered me, and I feel compelled to go deeper-to unpack something I’ve carried for far too long: my perspective on how my mum became involved in a national high-profile news scandal involving Wayne Rooney, a brothel and a ‘granny’.
So, I’m watching and hear Colleen talk about the press and the negative impact they had on her life. And it just brought everything rushing back.
While I can’t confirm that it was definitely this scandal in question that she was referring to, I’m pretty sure it is.
She said something like, “He made one mistake, and the press never let him live it down.” And THAT I resonated with.
Because, in my experience, much like the press, my community did not allow me to forget my mum’s part in that. It brought back a lot of bad memories. It wasn’t just the memories, but the ripple effects the things my family lost that we’ll never get back.
The media has a terrifying power to destroy lives.
Princess Diana once said, “The press is ferocious. It forgives nothing, it only hunts for mistakes.”
When the brothel/granny scandal broke, it wasn’t just them who suffered. My family and many others were part of the collateral damage, me and my sisters dragged into a story we had no control over.
I was 12 when my mum ended up on the front page of The Sun, and in my eyes, our family was humiliated in ways that can’t be undone. She was responding to allegations presented to her by The News of the World-allegations, as I understood it, made by other working women my mum had known.
To think that one sentence/lie in a scummy paper could have allowed my mum to be manipulated into responding in such a way on such a huge platform, to me just shows her vulnerability. At this point her identity was still protected under the guise of her working name ‘Morgan Hennessy.’
In her eyes everyone she knew had known that was about her and her ego mixed with mental health lead to her accepting an offer from the sun. For my mum, it was, her defending her honour and putting straight rumours that she had been dragged into.
For me, it was the loss of everything she’d worked for, however flawed her choices may have been. She wasn’t always in that line of work! She spent the most part of her life working for social services and in adult care. Times of desperation lead to a series of unimaginable events. Thrusting our private life into the homes of everyone we knew!
I will never forget her frantically going to every shop in our local area to buy up all the papers before people had a chance.
Panicking about what would happen to us.
But we never imagined it would have got as bad as it did. We had to sell our family home- the only family asset we had. A home that had once housed my great-grandmother.
The persecution got so bad- mostly for us kids–that my mum felt the only choice we had was to leave.
So, while we were struggling to pick up the pieces, watching our lives implode, the media was busy profiting off the destruction. The scandal was everywhere: headlines, talk shows, gossip columns all feeding into a system that thrives on the misery of ordinary people.
The stars caught up in these scandals often have the means or skills to turn things around. Wayne Rooney, for example, went on to earn millions. Colleen has built an empire, transforming her pain into power. And while I have nothing but respect for her resilience, I can’t help but compare their paths to ours.
The wealth they’ve accumulated- even as a result of their mistreatment by the press–is staggering to an average Joe like me. The same machine that tore them down also gave them a platform, one they’ve used to rebuild. But for working-class families, there was no platform. No second chance. just the fallout.
This isn’t just my story. It’s the story of countless families who’ve been chewed up and spat out by a system that prioritises profit over people. I often think about what could have been. What if my mum was better educated in finance? Would she have been able to make better decisions to secure our future?
For working-class people, in today’s climate, the possibilities of getting on the property ladder are becoming less and less. The cost of living is skyrocketing. Property prices are through the roof. Wages haven’t kept pace.
Young people today can barely dream of owning a home, let alone building wealth for the next generation.
Where we are from, that one asset often a modest house- isn’t just a place to live. It’s the cornerstone of generational wealth. It’s the thing you pass down, the thing that gives your kids a chance at a better future.
Meaning that for my family, losing our home wasn’t just a devastating blow. It was the loss of our future.
Why didn’t she just buy another house?
It’s a fair question, but you can’t even begin to imagine the chaos she was in. Cornered and overwhelmed, selling up felt like her only escape. What would you have done?
All of this, makes me think about the other families caught in the same scandal. The other kids who may have lost their stability, their chance at something more. I hope they’re all well!
How do people like me shake the hangover of that loss? How does my generation recover when the foundations we needed to succeed were ripped out from under Us? When the safety net of community is removed, and you’re left feeling vulnerable – where do you turn?
These are the questions I’ve been grappling with for years.
I have thought long and hard about how to word this so that you can see my perspective. Possibly an angle, you, like many others may have never considered. I mean why would you have it’s the most random life experience ever! Haha. Fucking bizarre!
I used to think, when I was younger, “How have I gone from looking at Colleens outfits for inspo in Gossip mags to being intertwined in a scandal involving her?” As a young girl, I’d never felt more connected to a celebrity in my life.
I’ve explored this particular part of my life through a podcast, through the research and development of a play. I’ve dissected it, analysed it, and tried to make sense of it. But I’ve never shared it widely. It never felt right to share.
Until now.
The other night reminded me of how much this still weighs on me, and I feel compelled to open up to invite others into this conversation. This blog feels like the safest and most authentic way of exploring it.
Because this isn’t just my story. It’s a working-class story. It’s about how the media exploits the vulnerable, how scandals leave devastation in their wake, and how the ripple effects can last for generations.
So, as you read this, I ask you to reflect.
When you see a headline, when you hear a story, think about the lives behind it. Not just the stars, but the ordinary people who are dragged into the spotlight, often against their will.
Think about what’s taken from them. Think about the cost.
And if you’ve ever been caught in the fallout of something you didn’t cause, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s open up this space for feedback, for stories, for connection.
Because the press might destroy lives, but maybe, together, we can start to rebuild them.
Thanks again for being here and letting me unload my life, past and present, in a safe and meaningful way.
Until next month,
Ciao.
This blog reflects my personal experiences and opinions. It is not intended to harm, defame, or misrepresent anyone mentioned. My aim is to share my perspective and encourage understanding. If you have concerns about the content, please reach out to me directly.
Brodie Arthur 
Leave a comment