Miquita Oliver has revealed she was made homeless and bankrupt during her late 20s, sleeping on her mother's sofa while battling alcoholism at the height of her fame. The BBC presenter, best known for hosting Channel 4's Popworld alongside Simon Amstell, opened up about the struggles she faced after falling from grace as a weekend youth television host.
Struggles with alcohol and fame
On Monday (September 28), the 42-year-old sat down with her once-nemesis Fearne Cotton on her podcast, Happy Place. She admitted that losing TV jobs and facing public scrutiny pushed her to drink as a way to cope with things spiralling out of control.
She told Fearne: "I used to hate her... Miquita aged 29 to 33. Hate on her avidly. And now I'm like, 'Give her a break. She was an alcoholic, but I had nowhere to turn'. I was stuck. I couldn't get out of this place. So, I was like, I'll just haze myself."
Lost jobs and financial ruin
In 2010, Miquita lost her presenting gig at Channel 4 after she was heard mocking musician Kesha behind her back. She was subsequently sacked from her Radio 1 gig in 2005 following a car-crash NME interview in which she told the journalist that TOTP (Top of the Pops) should "get rid of the she-devil Fearne Cotton."
Miquita later apologised to Fearne for her comment and reflected on being made bankrupt in her late 20s after three years of not paying tax. The star was famously hit with a £170,000 tax bill in 2012 and was forced to sell her personal possessions and declare herself bankrupt in order to repay it.
Living on her mother's sofa
Miquita went on to confess that she was made homeless, losing her two-bedroom flat in London, turning to her mum, Andi Oliver, and sleeping on her sofa while still battling fame in the public eye. She recalled: "I'd lost my flat because of very external circumstances. So, I was living on my mum's sofa, feeling like a failure even though I was probably at the height of my career, and I had to Miss Me? [her podcast, which she hosts with Lily Allen] from the sofa."
She added: "I was like, 'This is hell'. And then I got into it, and I was like, 'Well, my Nan lives here with my mum, and she's 90 next year, and I see her, but I don't see her'. Suddenly, I'm living with her all day, every day. I'm with her. We start watching documentaries every night. We go on these long walks with the dogs. We have this time that I will never forget now. And I didn't go into it going, 'This is like doing time', I was like, 'What a gift to be here... And thank God my mum has a big house now, because her career has taken off'."
Recovery and new beginnings
In 2022, Miquita moved into her own flat in Clapton, East London, just a stone's throw from her mother's house. Speaking about her new pad, she gushed: "Now I live in the best flat that I would have never dreamt of existing. It's so beautiful, and I totally had to go through the sofa to get what we like to call 'Palace of Dreams'."
Addressing her bankruptcy on the BBC Three programme Young, British & Broke in 2013, Miquita confessed that she was so ashamed of the financial struggles that she didn't tell anyone for two years. She said: "At 17, I was earning money I didn't know how to handle, and before I knew it, I owed thousands to the taxman. I just felt like I couldn't breathe and that I was sinking I was so scared about my future and I didn't tell anyone for two years. When I was declared bankrupt, it felt like I was in a financial mess I would never get out of."
