Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inbox We have more newsletters Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inbox We have more newsletters New BBC2 comedy Spent sees Michelle de Swarte take on the role of ex-catwalk model Mia, who has fell on hard times and is trying to adapt to a life of poverty. The actress is no stranger to the modelling world, having been scouted by an agency when she was just 19, and her experience has helped her to create the new show. Michelle, 43, may now be mostly recognised as a comedian and actress, but she had a hugely successful modelling career before turning her attention to other projects.
She modelled for brands such as Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger and Cartier during her time on the catwalk. She's been open about her time as a model, including the dark sides and the money. Despite this, Michelle has admitted she was a "lucky one" who came out of the industry "pretty unscathed".
“When I was modelling, your job was to not talk and look pretty," she previously told The Guardian , noting how different her new career and acting is. Michelle wasn't phased however, as she was more focused on not falling over on the runway - yet this still happened. While working as a model in New York, Michelle was propositioned by late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
She's spoken about this in her stand-up comedy routines, but has admitted the full story is "deep and it's dark. �.
