Hollyoaks’ Jamie Lomas ‘is claiming taxpayers’ money to furlough staff for three of his companies’

Jamie Lomas is reportedly claiming taxpayers’ money to furlough staff for three of his companies.

According to reports, the Hollyoaks star, 45 – who has continued to portray Warren Fox on the soap throughout the lockdown – has made employee wage requests through Jamie Lomas 21, Jamie Lomas Associates, and First Take School of Acting. 

The state-funded Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS) is designed to help cash-strapped employers survive the lean months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Sun reports that the actor’s businesses had six staff members between them as of latest accounts – potentially triggering a £15,000 per month pay-out from the Treasury.

Jamie’s companies are listed as 318,520, 318,519 and 226,256 out of the 740,000 businesses and individuals who turned to the scheme for support, published on the HMRC site.

Jamie Lomas 21 is a TV firm and is said to have two employed members of staff on his accounts.   

Jamie Lomas Associates, meanwhile, specialises in motion picture, television and other theatrical casting activities and is looked after by four employees. 

Set up in 2018, First Take School of Acting is a ‘media representation service’, co-owned by the soap star and his business partner, Simone Clark, who also co-directs one of his other businesses. 

The publication also claimed the thespian’s fourth brand JLA Film – set up last year – isn’t believed to be using furlough. 

Jamie’s spokesperson said: ‘Anyone who has been unable to work due to Covid has been furloughed, at the relevant times, as per government deadlines.’ MailOnline has contacted Jamie’s representatives for further comment. 

The CJRS scheme was launched on March 20, 2020, initially for three months, then extended several times and will now run until the end of April 2021.

Initially the scheme was only for those workers who were on their company’s payroll on or before 28 February 2020; this was later changed to 19 March 2020, making 200,000 additional workers eligible. 

On the first day of operation, 140,000 companies applied to use the scheme and its cost has been estimated at £14 billion a month to run. 

Love Islanders such as Kem Cetinay, Olivia and Alex Bowen, and Gabby Allen have also been listed as claiming furlough cash for their businesses, despite raking in millions since leaving the show. 

Married couple Alex and Olivia run their company, OAB Fashion Limited, which is registered for the retail sale of clothing in specialised stores on Companies House.

A spokesperson for the influencers said they had put ‘one member of staff’ on furlough who would have otherwise been let go. 

They told MailOnline: ‘This shouldn’t really be about about Alex and Olivia, but the individual who was still, because of the government advice, able to put food on their table when the company they worked for wasn’t in a financially viable position to pay them in the midst of an unforeseen pandemic.

‘This was the intention of the government when putting the furlough scheme into action, hundreds of thousands of UK companies have successfully and legitimately used the furlough scheme to protect the livelihoods of their staff and stay afloat, OAB Fashion is no exception to this.’

The couple, who met on the 2016 series of the dating show, married in 2018 and secured a lucrative £25,000 magazine deal.

They are thought to be one of Love Island’s biggest success stories earning millions since leaving the villa and recently renovating their £1m Essex mansion. 

Meanwhile, 2017 series star Gabby’s company GDA Enterprises Ltd also appears on the furlough claims list. 

The blonde beauty, 29, who has been living in Dubai in recent months as her beau Brandon Myer’s business is based there, is thought to worth around £1.3m.

The dancer has worked on a number of projects since leaving the villa including Shape Up fitness which included live workouts and a book which was released in 2019. 

Kem, 24, runs Kemcet Limited, which is filed as ‘service activities’ on Companies House and reportedly had more than £500,000 in the bank in its last accounts.

The former hairdresser also appeared on the ITV show in 2017, winning the series, and has since gone on to earn an estimated £1.5million 

The Essex native became the first male ambassador for Primark, signed a lucrative deal with Boohoo and has worked with McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s.

Since winning the show, the TV star has also been ever present on our screens and was a contestant and host on Dancing On Ice and a showbiz correspondent on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.

Millionaire Cara Delevingne and her family are also claiming cash from the Covid scheme for their property business.

The model, 28, is a director of the family’s company, Harvey White Properties Ltd, alongside her father Charles, 71, and two sisters Poppy, 34, and Chloe, 35. 

T he business, which has an impressive portfolio of real estate thought to be worth £45.5m, has been made to halve rents during the pandemic.

Cara’s father Charles confirmed to the publication he’s been claiming from the scheme. It is not known how many members of staff have been furloughed but the company is thought to employ five people.   

Hollywood heavyweight Robert De Niro’s celebrity-loved Nobu London restaurant has also used taxpayer’ money to furlough staff during the pandemic – despite his £360million fortune.

Goodfellas star De Niro, 77, co-founded the high-end Nobu chain with celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa and film producer Meir Teper in 1994.

While Guy Ritchie and former Rugby ace Mike Tindall – who is married to the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall – both also claimed furlough money for their firms. 

While a driver who was employed by Maddox Gallery to drive Tamara Ecclestone’s husband Jay Rutland was also furloughed, according to the Daily Mail.