Giovanna and Tom Fletcher break silence amid furlough backlash

‘It was a huge error of judgement and a mistake!’ Giovanna and Tom Fletcher break their silence to reveal they’ve paid back the funds they claimed from the government’s furlough scheme

  • The author, 36, allegedly received a sizeable sum of cash alongside her husband Tom while the UK was in the midst of the Covid lockdown
  • According to government documents obtained by The Sun, Giovanna and Tom received the financial support weeks after she won I’m A Celebrity
  • The mother-of-three was crowned champion in December following the show’s first ever UK-based series
  • The couple – said to be worth £8m – have remained silent on the matter until now

Giovanna Fletcher has issued a statement with her husband Tom in the wake of the news they claimed money from the government’s furlough scheme, despite being worth £8 million.

Despite keeping quiet on the matter until now, the best-selling author, 36, shared a joint note from her and McFly musician Tom, 35, to Instagram on Tuesday evening, with Tom sharing the same message to his account.

It read: ‘Hi everyone, we have always had a very honest and open relationship with you all on here so we thought it was important to address questions that some of you have rightly asked us in the last 24 hours.

Breaking their silence: Giovanna Fletcher has issued a statement with her husband Tom in the wake of the news they claimed money from the government’s furlough scheme, despite being worth £8 million

‘It’s true that we did follow financial advice to furlough someone we employ. This was for a member of our team who couldn’t carry out their role due to the pandemic, and the scheme was suggested to us as the most effective way to give them job stability and security.

‘Although it was a time of great uncertainty, we clearly should have thought more about the situation and funded it ourselves.

‘It was a huge error of judgement and a mistake we wholeheartedly take responsibility for and we have paid the full amount back. Gi and Tom x’

The statement also disputed the sum – which was said to be £30,000 when The Sun reported the news at the weekend. 

Statement: Despite keeping quiet on the matter until now, the best-selling author, 36, shared a joint note from her and McFly musician Tom, 35, to Instagram on Tuesday evening, with Tom sharing the same message to his account

Explanation: ‘It’s true that we did follow financial advice to furlough someone we employ. This was for a member of our team who couldn’t carry out their role due to the pandemic,’ the statement read

The comments were disabled under the post on both Tom and Giovanna’s Instagram pages.

The money was said to have been claimed just weeks after Giovanna was crowned the champion of last year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! after winning the hearts of viewers.

According to government documents obtained by The Sun, Giovanna and Tom received the financial support weeks after she won the show.

Since being crowned Queen Of The Castle in December, Giovanna’s career has gone from strength to strength.

Despite being known as an accomplished author, her career in publishing hasn’t always been plain sailing as she recently revealed that she lost 12,000 words of her new book Walking on Sunshine during the creative process.

Surprising: Giovanna Fletcher, 36, reportedly claimed up to £30,000 from the government’s furlough scheme, weeks after being crowned I’m A Celebrity champion (pictured)

Surprising: The author received the huge sum of cash alongside her husband Tom (pictured), who are believed to be worth £8 million, while the UK was in the midst of the Covid lockdown

MailOnline can exclusively detail the vlogger’s painful blunder ahead of the release of Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle’s Private Parts podcast episode on Friday.

Horrified Giovanna told the former Made In Chelsea stars: ‘I lost everything of the new book when my laptop died. I lost 12,000 words.’

Fortunately, Giovanna managed to recover her work thanks to a little help from her friends, discovering the document had been saved to her cloud, with the star sharing the happy news to her social media followers at the time. 

Ouch! It comes after Giovanna revealed that she lost 12,000 words of her new book Walking on Sunshine while appearing on Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle’s Private Parts podcast

The mother-of-three’s first novel, Billy and Me, was published in 2013 but her career as a wordsmith was launched thanks to an unpublished satirical project about life with her McFly star beau Tom Fletcher, 35.

However, acting was Giovanna’s first love, having attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, but she insists she’s now turned her back on a stage career.

When quizzed by Jamie about how she handled rejection, the CBeebies presenter said: ‘I was always aware of how difficult it was, I was taught about rejection. I wouldn’t change anything that happened. Getting in the door is the trickiest part.’ 

Love and marriage: She is married to McFly star Tom who she met at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London when she was 13 before they both found fame

Laugh a minute: Giovanna has turned her back on acting in favour of writing and is able to laugh about losing her work after it was recovered thanks to her friends

Celebrity pals: Former Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing, 32, spoke to Giovanna on his podcast

And when pressed over whether she’ll stick with writing or try her hand at acting again in the future, she said: ‘Writing, I’m able to create words and characters without the stress of acting. 

‘But with writing you’re on your own and, when you’re acting, you’re part of a world that makes you feel alive.’

Giovanna, whose book Walking on Sunshine is set for release in November, met husband Tom in her teens at school.

The couple share three children, their sons Buzz, seven, Buddy, five, and Max, two. 

Opening up on married life with the musician, she concluded: ‘Me and Tom have been married for nine years, together for 18. 

Larking about: Actress-turned-author Giovanna told Jamie and Francis (pictured) she’s much happier as an author than an actress as she struggled with the rejection after auditions

Happy families: Giovanna and Tom are parents to sons Buzz, seven, Buddy, five, and Max, two

‘We met at 13 at theatre school. [There’s] the whole myth of growing up with someone and it gets too comfortable, but comfort is nice. Seeing each other as parents is a whole new thing.’

Giovanna recently revealed that she and Tom are hoping to revisit both of their honeymoon destinations to mark 10 years of marriage next year. 

She told HELLO! magazine: ‘We’d like to do a trip to Jade Mountain in St Lucia just for us and go to Disney World in Florida, which was our second honeymoon destination, with the whole family.

‘Having young kids is relentless and intense so it’d be nice to have something that’s focused on us.’

Reality queen: Giovanna won the lockdown series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here in December last year when it was filmed in a Welsh castle rather than the Australian jungle

Listen up! Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle’s podcast Private Parts can he heard online

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