Former Coronation Street actor Philip Middlemiss, best known for playing Des Barnes on the ITV soap, has been declared bankrupt for a second time. The 62-year-old filed for bankruptcy after failing to settle a five-figure tax bill, with HM Revenue and Customs named as the petitioner in the High Court.
This marks the second occasion Middlemiss has faced bankruptcy due to tax issues, the first being in 2012. He previously attributed his financial troubles to spiralling costs from a film he was directing in Ghana, which he helped finance. The project stalled after three years, leaving him without income and reliant on family and friends.
In 2020, Middlemiss faced further legal issues when Ghanaian police sought him over an alleged £5 million bribery scheme involving the sale of military planes. He denied wrongdoing and was formally cleared, but described the ordeal as turning his life upside down.
Middlemiss appeared on Coronation Street from 1990 to 1998, with his character Des Barnes dying from a heart attack after intervening in an attack on his stepson. After a decade away from screens, he returned to television last year in the BBC daytime soap Doctors.
