A week is a long time in Calum Best, so the saying goes, with the former model's re-emergence from the where-are-they-now files proving something of a curate's egg.
Lost in Showbiz first sighted the late George Best's boy in last Monday's Daily Telegraph, where he was the subject of a 1,600-word article devoted to his personal finances. In it we learned some pretty eye-opening stuff – "I'm on my seventh fragrance now", for instance – as well as being given an insight into Calum's hands-on grasp of his finances after a wild period in his youth.
"As I got older I got a little wiser," he revealed. "I've built a relationship with my bank people over the years," he went on, "so I'll call someone directly and have a word."
The turning point was apparently a documentary he made a few years ago about children who had been brought up by alcoholics. This he described as an emotional and financial epiphany. "I just learned that I have so much to offer and so much to give," reflected Calum. "So I thought: 'Keep your head down', and now life is good. As my head got clear, with age, and I got more sensible, I focused more on my business and my finances got better."
It all sounds very judicious. Or, as he put it to the Sun this week, a mere nine days later: "I can confirm I have made the decision to declare myself bankrupt as a result of being unable to make tax repayments."
According to Best, he had tried "to pursue alternative methods" to bankruptcy – and so it would seem. With the best will in the world, though, Lost in Showbiz can't help wondering quite how many newspaper interviews on his household prudence, with a plug for his clothing line, he would have had to give before he came close to breaking even on that tax bill.
