The British model-turned-comedian behind new BBC comedy Spent has used her own life as inspiration for the show, including becoming homeless as a teenager and the dark side of the fashion industry.
Lewisham-born Michelle de Swarte, 43, left school at 14 and found herself staying in Women’s Aid refuges for victims of domestic abuse on more than one occasion growing up.
After winning fans with her no-holds-barred comedy shows, the former international model wrote Spent, which follows Mia Sinclair, a model forced to return to London from New York after work dries up as she ages.
De Swarte says about “20 percent” of the show is based on things that have happened in her own life, with Mia struggling, as she did, with being thrust into a world of high glamour after growing up in poverty.
Michelle de Swarte plays Mia Sinclair in the new BBC series Spent, which premiered yesterday
Michelle de Swarte left school at 14 before taking her GCSE exams. Above: Michelle on the catwalk in 2001
Earlier this year, De Swarte revealed to the Big problem that she had been forced to live in a shelter with her brother and mother – and seven other families – as a teenager, and said she was afraid people would find out she was homeless.
She moved into a shelter again when she was a teenager and told the Independent which this time was for his ‘own relationship’.
The aspiring model worked as a waitress at the Prince of Wales pub in Clapham, but her life changed when she was discovered at the age of 19. Although she didn’t make any money as a model in London, that soon changed when she was noticed by a New York agency.
Michelle, her brother and mother were living in the shelter with seven other families and Michelle told the Big Issue she was “scared” of other people finding out (pictured in 2022)
De Swarte soon found herself walking the runway for Burberry, Gucci and Versace and splashing out on expensive brunches, lavish hotel rooms and designer clothes.
She was signed by Karin Models, which at the time was run by Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
The 43-year-old recalled the moment she met convicted sex offender Epstein at his Upper East Side mansion when she was stranded in New York City after 9/11.
Epstein offered to fly the models to Milan to walk the catwalks, on the condition that she wanted to meet them all first.
But Michelle turned down his offer, adding that she had a bad feeling about him. She told the outlet: “I’ve done better than most, I’ll admit that. I’m lucky that my experience was very peripheral and it didn’t affect me too much.”
She was hired by Karin Models, which at the time was run by Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein (pictured).
Michelle de Swarte in 2002 for the Betsey Johnson fashion show
Michelle (pictured in 2008) talks about the MeToo movement within the modelling industry and tells the Independent that “creepy guys abound”
Brunel was found dead in his cell two years ago while awaiting trial for rape of a minor.
Michelle told The Times: ‘None of us knew. You just had this feeling that this seemed strange. You saw it, but you were constantly saying, ‘Are you seeing this?’ and everyone around you was reassuring you that it was normal. You were like, ‘This is not normal.’
“But at that point, what are you going to do? It’s not always necessarily one big thing, but a lot of little things, and (looking back) you can connect all the dots.”
However, none of the Epstein content appears on the BBC programme. Michelle talks about the MeToo movement within the modelling industry, telling the Independent that “creepy guys are a dime a dozen”.
Spent also touches on the theme of movement, as it shows a 15-year-old model being given cocaine and dancing with an older influencer.
Her character, Mia, is queer and was raised by a Jewish mother in a residential area of Brixton, like Michelle.
Michelle also speaks about colorism during her career as a black model in the early 2000s, adding that she has experienced “a lot of racism” in the industry.
She told the outlet that there would only be one black model per show and that she would often be chosen because of her “proximity to whiteness.”
Her character, Mia, who is queer and was raised by a Jewish mother in a Brixton suburb like Michelle, also experiences this on the show.
Michelle comes across a casting call asking for an “ethnically ambiguous” model who describes herself as “not white but not too black” and claims she saw many ads like this during that time.
Struggling with cash and adding that he had “spent money like it was on fire”, he returned to the UK after two decades working abroad “without much to show for it”.
Michelle ended up in homeless accommodation in her thirties and it’s a constant theme throughout the show. She told The Big Issue: “Technically I was homeless but I didn’t realise it.
‘I didn’t understand the gravity of my situation. I was staying with people, but I did that for a few years.
“Someone had to tell me that I didn’t have a home. They told me this as a joke. I kept pretending that I was ‘traveling,’ but I was only staying with my friend for a few days and I had my whole life with me.”
Michelle was left homeless while in Los Angeles, while her character, Mia, finds herself staying in other people’s houses in London.
The model moved house in 2019 due to her living situation and says Katherine Ryan helped her launch her acting career after they met on the stand-up comedy scene.
She then starred in the Netflix show The Duchess, along with a Sky comedy, The Baby, before making her own series with the BBC.
- ‘Spent’ starts on BBC Two at 10pm on Monday 8 July