By Matthew Moore

Copyright hellomagazine

Ever since his casting on Strictly Come Dancing, controversy has swirled around Thomas Skinner; whether it’s over his friendship with American vice-president JD Vance or his abrupt departure from a media event for the show. The 34-year-old businessman, who was paired with Amy Dowden on last night’s launch show, rose to fame on The Apprentice, however, he missed out on the £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar, but how much is the star now worth? HELLO! has done some digging into the star’s finances to get the figure for you…

There are no conclusive figures about Thomas’ net worth, but various reports seem to suggest that the father-of-three is a millionaire. It’s believed that Thomas is worth anything between £1.5 million and £13 million. The star is known to live in a gorgeous house located in Essex, where RightMove estimates that the average house price in the county is £422,866.

Thomas has two main sources of income, his business interests, as well as his media appearances. The star will have earned a substantial fee for appearing on Strictly, although these figures normally aren’t made available, and he has also been booked on shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, Celebrity MasterChef, Faking It and Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel.

However, the star’s main source of income will be through his business pursuits. At the time of his appearance on The Apprentice, Thomas was the founder and director of The Fluffy Pillow Company. The business sold pillows, mattresses and beds, with its USP being its memory foam pillows, which Thomas personally designed. In 2020, he set up Bosh Beds, named for his signature catchphrase, however, it was less successful than his original business. Thomas resigned as the company’s director in 2022, and it was dissolved the following year.

Controversial signing

There has been plenty of talk about Thomas competing on this year’s series and the announcement last month generated a mixed response from fans. One wrote: “Absolutely disgusting booking. Shameful BBC,” while a second added: “Thought this was one of those fake accounts what are we doing here,” and a third penned: “What’s that you hear?? Oh… it’s the sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped. Seriously strictly [expletive] is this signing?!”

However, there were others that came to the defence of the 34-year-old businessman. One enthused: “Yay!!!!!! Tom,” while a second posted: “Let’s remember there is more to a person than their political views. Welcome Thomas, I’m sure you’ll be brilliant.” A third commented: “Woo hoo!! Best celebrity reveal ever!!! I’ll support you every week. Don’t listen to the haters. They are just brainwashed. Can’t wait to watch you.”

He generated further headlines when he left a media event early, claiming he saw personal messages about him on a journalist’s phone. HELLO! spoke to the 34-year-old before his sudden departure, where he told us why he decided to take part. “I want to learn how to dance, it’s my mum’s favourite show,” he said. “I can say to my kids, especially my girls when they get older, that I’ve done it. I’ll also prove my mates wrong; show I can have a go and learn a bit of dancing.”