I was hungry, homeless and on welfare, reveals Eighties TV star Lysette Anthony

Eighties sitcom actress Lysette Anthony has told how she was left “homeless and on welfare” for a period as a result of “expensive husbands”.

Lysette Anthony played Lucy in Dracula Dead and Loving it in 1995
Lysette Anthony played Lucy in Dracula Dead and Loving it in 1995 Credit: Photo: Allstar/Scope Features

Lysette Anthony, the Eighties sitcom actress, has told how she was left “homeless and on welfare” for a period as a result of “expensive husbands”.

Miss Anthony, who was heralded as the “face of the Eighties” by the photographer David Bailey, said there had been times when she became “incredibly thin” because she could not afford to eat.

While those misfortunes are now behind her, she claimed that she was now living on just £6,000 per year as a result of a dramatic drop in fees paid to television actors since her initial rise to fame in Three Up, Two Down.

The actress sharply criticised the country’s legal system, which she described as a “disgrace” for failing to extract what she considered an adequate formal financial settlement from her former partner Simon Boswell, the film score composer, who is the father of her 10-year-old son, Jimi.

It was left to Mr Boswell, she said, to do the “honourable thing” and put funds aside for their son.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph’s Money section, Miss Anthony, who was married twice before her relationship with Mr Boswell, said: “Over the years I’ve had a lot of expensive husbands. I have been homeless and on welfare. That was during what I called 'the troubles’, and I had a mucky break-up with my son’s stepfather.

“Everyone’s behaving now and that’s fine, but there have been times when I got incredibly thin because I couldn’t really afford to eat.”

Miss Anthony’s first marriage, to Luc Leestermaker, a Dutch actor, in 1990, ended in divorce four years later. Her subsequent marriage to David Price, an American film director, lasted two years.

Miss Anthony and Mr Boswell’s “mucky break-up” was heavily publicised in 2011 when he appeared in court wrongly accused of assaulting the actress during a heated row at their home.

Mr Boswell strongly denied the claim and was subsequently cleared by magistrates. Separately he accused her of having an affair with a mutual friend – which she denied.

In the interview she said the settlement reached with Mr Boswell failed to recognise her financial “input” in their relationship.

She said: “The law in this country is a disgrace if you’re not married. If you’ve lived with someone – and it doesn’t matter if it’s for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years – if you’re not married you are f-----. We bought a house together… but all that you are owed in terms of your input, your finances, is your investment in the property in the bricks and mortar.

“So the fact that you bought heaven knows how many Christmas presents and paid for and contributed, that’s irrelevant.

“It’s simply because you’re not married, and it’s absolutely wrong. But to be fair to Simon, he did do the honourable thing and made up the difference and has put it in trust for Jimi.”

Anthony came to public attention after she was styled the “face of the Eighties” by Bailey at the age of 16. By 20, she had become a household name as an actress.

As well as starring in Three up, Two Down, she was also known for her role in Woody Allen’s 1992 drama Husbands and Wives.

In today’s interview she said that while her first contract, at the age of 19, amounted to £2,500 per week, her earnings had fallen significantly because television acting was no longer well paid.

“All of that’s gone. In those days you could earn a living but it’s got to the stage where we actors can’t go on like this. By the end of this year I’ll have done some television, starred in a fantastic play just off the West End and I will have made just £6,000.”

- Read the full interview with Lysette Anthony: 'I earned £6,000 this year, actors can't go on like this'