TV & Showbiz Features

ONCE dubbed “the most boring man in football” Michael Owen’s choice to sign up for a fly-on-the-wall Amazon documentary about his family was unexpected to say the least.

The former England striker turned pundit, 46, allowed cameras to follow him, his wife Louise and their children Gemma, James, Emily and Jessica as they balance family life with running a horse racing business in Cheshire.

And it was a distinctly left-field move from Michael, who – unlike celebrity documentary subjects David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and the larger-than-life Tyson Fury – has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

He is seen joking in six part series Meet The Owens that he is now best known as a “boring p***k” or “Gemma Owen’s dad” after she appeared in Love Island, raising questions about why he would agree to film the at-home-with style show.

And we can reveal that the ex-footballer – often referred to as ‘the most boring man in football’ – signed up for his TV payday after ploughing £13 million into his racing business pushed him to his financial limit.

While he may have other streams of income, accounts for Michael’s company Owen Promotions show it holds just £7,219 in cash and owes £2.3m to creditors.

It also has three outstanding loans, two of which were taken out in March 2022 and February 2024 with Leeds-based MR Denton Properties.

A further loan was taken out in February 2024 with Andrew Black, who co-founded Betfair.

Two other loans with Grosvenor Funding, which claims to offer “fast and flexible” bridging loans were paid off in 2023.

And all five loans were secured using parts of the Owens home estate – a 42-acre estate he bought in 2001 for £4million.

Speaking in Meet the Owens, which is now number 3 on the Amazon Prime UK chart, Michael revealed he has had to put “£12 or £13 million” into Manor House Stables to build it to its current level.

But he admits the business – which makes cash by persuading investors to back the horses they buy at auction – still desperately needs investors.

And he describes their current status as: “Premier League. Brighton, but not seventh, but kind of bottom half.”

Footage from the first episode shows the racing enthusiast giving pal Jamie Carragher a tour of the impressive grounds and stables, showing off a horse owned by Sir Alex Ferguson and another he owns along with Paul Scholes, Steve McManaman and Owen Hargreaves.

Drone shots show the impressive site from the air, while graphics also flash up on screen showing how the structure works – a handy guide for any would-be investors.

One source told us: “Michael is passionate about Manor House and racing, and he has done an incredible job on Manor House.

“The problem is that it is a big money pit and you can pour millions into it without any guarantee of winning horses.

“He loves it, and would never walk away, but it would be naive to say it hasn’t had a massive impact on his finances.

“And the pressure is never ending because as a business, you have to buy horses each year – for £90,000 or more – and try to find investors for them.

“Then the million-dollar question is whether or not those horses win, as the stables need winners to succeed.

“But the reality is that you only win a very small percentage of the races in which you have horses.”

Michael is now the sole shareholder for Manor House Stables LLP, which owns the stables, after director and co-owner Andrew Black resigned in March 2022 after six years.

Accounts show the company has healthy assets of approximately £13.6million.

Yet the source said the business still has a way to go before it becomes a money-spinner, rather than a money pit.

They added: “The Amazon payday has come at a good time for Michael, but he is also hoping the airtime for Manor House will attract more investors.

“The more money that comes in, the better the horses and the more winners we will see here.

“That will help the business move higher up the rankings among the top British stables.

“Michael loves racing and he is driven by passion for the sport, but he is also very competitive and wants to win.”

Previously, a source told us: “Michael is extremely determined to succeed in racing. He has poured millions of his own money into Manor House, and he will not stop until he’s at the very top.

“Signing up to broadcast this to the world was a huge risk for him, and he’s desperate for it to work.

“Michael is keen to show off how much Manor House is a reputable and successful stable, and he hopes putting the business on screen ends up being a help rather than a hindrance.”

A spokesperson for Michael declined to comment.

SHE’S long been known as one of Towie’s most fiery personalities, but Ella Rae Wise has now broken her silence on a fresh fallout with a co-star – and revealed exactly what’s going on behind the scenes with an ex she once couldn’t be in the same room as.

Speaking to The Sun, the 26-year-old lifted the lid on the real story behind her rocky relationship with former best friend Dani Imbert, addressed another friendship that has quietly crumbled away from the cameras, and explained what it’s actually like filming alongside ex Dan Edgar these days.

When it comes to Dani, Ella insists there was never one big bust-up, but rather a realisation that the loyalty she was giving out wasn’t being returned. 

She said: “I would just say we decided not to be friends anymore. I don’t really know why on her behalf, but for me people always scream loyalty, but when the shoe is on the other foot, loyalty probably isn’t that strong towards me. 

“But I’m the one that needs to be seen to have loyalty everywhere and cut my nose off to spite my face. With this specific friendship, she was okay doing what she wanted to do behind my back with people who didn’t like me. 

“So, it wasn’t a mirrored friendship. It was one-sided is how I feel. With time going on, I think I prepared myself for this… I could see it coming.”

Ella and Dani first became close after Dani joined the show in 2021, quickly forming an inseparable trio alongside Junaid Ahmed that dominated cast trips, nights out and red carpet appearances for the best part of two years. 

Cracks first appeared in early 2023 when Dani admitted on camera to lying to Ella about a secret kiss with co-star Roman Hackett, but the real turning point came later that year during a cast trip to Cyprus, when Ella fell ill and says she was left feeling completely “frozen out“ by both Dani and Junaid. 

Matters were made worse when Dani and Junaid began socialising with Chloe Brockett – Ella’s long-running nemesis on the show – something Ella viewed as the ultimate betrayal, accusing Dani during fiery on-screen rows of being spineless and easily led by Junaid.

The pair did appear to patch things up by March 2024, but Ella admits the relationship never really recovered, and their apparent truce hasn’t lasted. 

In a teaser shared on Towie’s socials with Ella and her co-star Jodie Wells, Ella reflected on a moment where she found herself defending Dani in her absence, saying: “I defended her in a room she wasn’t in with Jonnie… why was I being so nice?” 

Jodie pointed out that Ella had been “really defending Dani… which is really nice considering she wasn’t being that much of a friend to you at that time,” before asking where things stand between them now. 

Ella replied: “I’d say the friendship is probably quite non-existent. I didn’t ever think I’d be in this position with Dani. We’ve fell out before and we always made a pact that we wouldn’t fall out again.”

But it seems the girls have gone back on their word, with Ella adding: “I don’t see where the friendship can go,” while Jodie suggested: “Maybe you’ve outgrown each other.” 

Asked by The Sun whether she and Dani have fallen out again, Ella made her feelings clear, admitting there’s little chance of a reunion this time round. 

The pair have now settled into two firmly separate camps within the cast, with Dani remaining closely aligned with Freddie Bentley, while Ella sticks by her pal Harry Derbidge.

The two groups manage to film together during big cast scenes and parties, but rarely mix on a personal level.

Dani isn’t the only co-star Ella has fallen silent with, though.

She also confirmed she and former best friend Freddie are no longer on speaking terms, telling us bluntly: “No. I’m alright with it, though. I don’t feel any type of way about it.”

Ella and Freddie were close pals long before Freddie officially joined the show and, when he did make his debut, he wasted no time stepping up as one of Ella’s fiercest defenders on screen, backing her throughout her dramatic falling out with Dani and Junaid. 

The two became practically inseparable, filming together constantly and championing one another in the media, but their bond hit a wall during a Towie Christmas special when an explosive row – fuelled by shifting group loyalties and Ella’s closeness with Harry Derbidge, who already had history with Freddie, triggered a complete breakdown in their friendship. 

Freddie later confirmed on GK Barry’s podcast Saving Grace last year that the pair were “not friends” anymore, and while the two briefly appeared to patch things up during a cast trip to Vietnam earlier this year, secondary drama involving Saffron Lempriere and Elma Pazar reignited old tensions, with a frustrated Freddie quitting the trip early and flying home. 

Freddie has since buried the hatchet with Harry but, as Ella’s own words confirm, his friendship with her shows no sign of being repaired heading into the new series.

Dani and Freddie are far from the only names on Ella’s list, either – the star has built up something of a reputation over the years for falling out with those closest to her. 

Her rivalry with Chloe Brockett remains one of her longest-running and most explosive, with the pair’s friendship collapsing not long after they joined the show together in 2019 when Ella began dating Chloe’s ex, Harry Lee – a feud that has seen the two repeatedly clash on camera ever since, each branding the other insincere. 

Her fallout with Junaid also stemmed from that same Cyprus trip, with Ella accusing him of being controlling and toxic and of deliberately turning mutual friends against her. 

Meanwhile her relationship with Amber Turner has been fraught since 2022, when Ella claimed Amber’s then-boyfriend (and her now-ex) Dan Edgar behaved inappropriately towards her on a night out. The feud reignited in 2024 once Amber and Dan split and Ella and Dan struck up a holiday fling of their own while filming in Bali.

Which brings us to the one relationship that, remarkably, appears to be going in a positive direction. 

Despite that turbulent history, Ella insists she and Dan have found a way to move past their issues, telling us: “We’re literally amicable, polite to each other, keep it moving. And it’s easy because we’re in the same group. 

“The boys banter it and break up the awkwardness. It’s been fine. This series has really been a good series for me. I’m feeling comfortable around everyone.”

It’s a far cry from the tension that once defined their dynamic, after Ella and Dan’s relationship first hit headlines in Bali following his split from Amber.

Things later boiled over during the cast trip to Vietnam for season 36 when Courtney Green accused Dan of “flirting” with Ella and being disrespectful to his then girlfriend Chloe Lewis. 

But with their wider friendship group having shifted considerably since then, the pair have settled into a far calmer footing – something Dan himself has previously credited to their mutual closeness with Jodie Wells and James “Diags” Bennewith.

As for her own life away from the group dramas, Ella tells us this series has marked a real turning point in how she feels in herself. 

She said: “It’s been fun. It’s been nice to do different things and have happy moments. This series is so different. So much better. 

“The change is probably how I feel in myself. I think I needed to focus on how I feel in myself to be able to get over things. So, I did that, and yeah, I’m over it!” 

She added that rebuilding her confidence has come from learning to love herself again and leaning on easier, less intense friendships, saying: “I think it’s more finding love for yourself again. That comes in time, doesn’t it… And the friends you have around you. That’s changed.

“I have a lot more easy-going friendships. They’re not hard work. We don’t have to be attached to each other 24/7. We’ve all got our own lives. It’s been good.”

Ella’s newfound sense of stability comes as she’s also settled into a new romance away from the cast, having gone public with new boyfriend Ricky, 34, in early August while on holiday with mutual pals Lorri Haines and Ferne McCann. 

The pair were pictured kissing at Marbella’s luxury Don Carlos Hotel and even sparked marriage rumours after Ella was spotted wearing a gold band.

TOWIE continues on Sunday and Monday every week on ITV2 & ITVX.