This Morning star Ashley James ‘was poorest she’d ever been’ on hit reality show

The popular TV star rose to fame during her time on E4’s Made in Chelsea

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Ashley James on ITV’s This Morning(Image: ITV)

This Morning star Ashley James has said that she was the ‘poorest she’s ever been’ during her time on the hit reality show that made her a star. Ashley can currently be found on ITV’s morning talk show with Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. The 38-year-old is often seen discussing the big news headlines of the day.

The popular TV personality is normally joined by Nick Ferrari, with the pair regularly seen getting into debates on social issues, gender politics and modern parenting. She initially got her break in the world of TV when she joined the posh cast of the E4 reality series as an extra. However, it wasn’t long before she was promoted to the main cast alongside the likes of Sam Thompson, Spencer Matthews and Zara McDermott.

Looking back on her time on the series, Ashley has revealed that she was paid just £50 per filming session and had to be on call so she couldn’t take on other work. As a result of this, she said she couldn’t afford rent and she had to live off her overdraft.

She told The Times newspaper: “One of the things that motivated me to say ‘yes’ to Made in Chelsea initially was the idea that it would make me very rich. And yet I was the poorest I’ve ever been when I was on that show…

“The irony wasn’t lost on me that I was on a show about really rich people while living in my friend’s childhood home, deep in my overdraft.”

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Despite her money worries at the time, Ashley has ‘no regrets’ about working on Made in Chelsea, with it eventually leading her to landing her This Morning slot.

However, she recently admitted she has turned down ‘big’ projects because of crippling mum guilt, with separation anxiety was impacting her four-year-old son Alfie.

Turning down opportunities has allowed her to spend time with him and her daughter Ada, two, whom she has with her partner Tommy Andrews.

She told Closer magazine: “I don’t work the regular 9-to-5 and I can’t be there for every bedtime or nursery drop off, so Tommy and I juggle. However, the last few weeks, I was so busy and missed quite a few bedtimes. It was having a real impact on Alfie with separation anxiety, and that’s so hard to navigate.

“I had to say no to a few big things so I could spend that quality time with him and my daughter.”

She continued: “Being a working mum is challenging because of the burden of mum guilt. We don’t ever use that term for dads, though. Dads are just expected to work and that’s that.

“We still expect mums to work full-time and be the homemaker they were decades ago. It’s setting ourselves up for failure. The reality is I could never be a stay-at-home mum, though.

“There are some mums that flourish when they spend so much time with their children, but I’m a better mum when I have breaks and get to work on things I’m passionate about.”