TV presenter Stephen Mulhern lives in the lap of luxury in this spectacular riverside home – while running a £4 million property empire where some tenants claim they have been condemned to a life of misery and squalor.
The pristine £1.6 million four-storey townhouse has been lovingly decorated and features bespoke modern fittings.
It’s a far cry from the £165,000 bungalow the millionaire Catchphrase and Dancing on Ice host owns near Leicester where residents say they have been suffering in appalling conditions for more than two years.
While Mulhern’s smart open plan bolthole features eye-catching contemporary ceiling spotlights dotted around the property, Mulhern’s tenants have been left living with large patches of damp and mould.
This week two former key workers hit out at Mulhern, 47, saying they were ‘furious’ after revealing their plight and branding the celebrity a ‘millionaire profiting off our misery’.
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Dancing on Ice’s Stephen Mulhern has apologised to tenants living in property owned by his £4million firm who claim they’ve lived with damp and mould for years
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Mulhern, 47, is thought to have bought his hideaway situated within a prestigious gated development in leafy Chiswick, west London for £1.6million two years ago
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His pristine four-storey townhouse has been lovingly decorated and features bespoke modern fittings
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The property, which has three double bedrooms and three bathrooms, has been given a glamorous makeover
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The townhouse, which has a garage on the ground floor, has its own garden and is just yards from the river
Mulhern, 47, is thought to have bought his hideaway situated within a prestigious gated development in leafy Chiswick, west London for £1.6million two years ago.
It was previously listed for sale last November before being taken off the market and estate agent pictures show the immaculate property, which has three double bedrooms and three bathrooms, has been given a glamorous makeover.
Mulhern has given his 765,000 Instagram followers a glimpse inside the property in postings.
The townhouse, which has a garage on the ground floor, has its own garden and is just yards from the river.
One estate agent said the development enjoys ‘arguably the best river views in Chiswick, with uninterrupted aspects both up and down the Thames’.
The area, which has been billed as the ‘new Notting Hill’, boasts a list of celebrity residents including fellow TV presenters Declan Donnelly, actor David Tennant, and radio presenters Jamie Theakston and Jeremy Vine.
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The property was previously listed for sale last November before being taken off the market
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One estate agent said the development enjoys ‘arguably the best river views in Chiswick
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The area, which has been billed as the ‘new Notting Hill’, boasts a list of celebrity residents including fellow TV presenters Declan Donnelly and actor David Tennant
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Mulhern, who also presents ITV’s Deal or No Deal, has a portfolio of seven properties which he operates through his firm JFDI Productions which he set up in 2007
Meanwhile Mulhern’s tenants in the Midlands – who pay £775 a month to rent their property – claim repeated complaints to the managing agents about their living conditions have fallen on deaf ears and they were left struggling with deteriorating health as a result.
One renter at the bungalow worth £165,000 in Leicester, who did not wish to be identified, said: ‘We worked our butts off as key workers during Covid. Who tunes in to watch and support Stephen Mulhern while we’re paying him rent to live in squalor? It leaves me bitter and alienated.
‘After all, Stephen Mulhern isn’t a low-paid, once key worker during the Covid crisis like my housemate and myself.’
The tenant added: ‘My housemate pointed out the damp issue during an annual inspection two or three years ago. The agent merely recommended that we ventilate properly and keep the house warm during the winter. We did, but the damp gradually worsened.
‘We remained patient, sending polite emails at first. In later conversations, my remarks became a bit sharper.’
After installing a humidity meter, the tenants recorded moisture levels of between 70 and 80 per cent in the flat – almost three times the normal level.
Although this prompted managing agents Connells to install a new ventilation system, the pair said this improved the issue only briefly.
A spokesperson for Connels said: ‘As agents we work on behalf of the landlord and we continue to work with the landlord’s representative to address the issues raised.’
Mulhern, who also presents ITV’s Deal or No Deal, has a portfolio of seven properties which he operates through his firm JFDI Productions which he set up in 2007.
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Mulhern has given his 765,000 Instagram followers a glimpse inside the property
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The inside of the house riddled with mould rented by Mr Mulhern’s firm
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Pictures of the refurbished bungalow show walls and ceilings covered in damp and mould
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The damp pictured on some of the walls of the property
Latest accounts show the firm has assets of £4.2 million after bringing in £5,750 a day and soaring by £2.1 million from the previous year.
Records show JFDI Productions bought the bungalow where the tenants live April 2020 for £165,000.
Mulhern’s TV firm, Blue Eye Productions, meanwhile, holds £5million of assets.
Mulhern was said to have been ‘absolutely mortified’ after the revelations emerged in the Big Issue magazine this week.
He pledged to resolve the issue as ‘a matter of urgency’.
A spokesman said Mulhern had ‘not been made aware’ of any of the issues as the property was managed by an independent company.
They said: ‘Stephen was absolutely mortified to learn about this situation and the awful experience the tenant has faced which is clearly unacceptable.
‘Having not been aware of the issues until now, Stephen has taken this matter into his own hands immediately and has personally requested for a team of damp specialists to visit the property to make sure that the problems with the ventilation and mould are resolved as a matter of urgency.
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Mr Mulhern said he had no idea about how bad the flats were and is ‘absolutely mortified’
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A spokesman said Mulhern had ‘not been made aware’ of any of the issues as the property was managed by an independent company
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He pledged to resolve the issue as ‘a matter of urgency’
‘We have contacted the tenant to express sincere apologies for the distress and frustration the management of this matter has caused.
‘This falls way below the standards Stephen expects and he is doing everything possible to remedy this ASAP, and this process is already underway.’
Mulhern – born in east London in 1977 to market trader parents Christopher and Maureen – started off as a magician before going on to become one of Britain’s most popular TV presenters.
He has credited his success to his parents saying: ‘I don’t mean to sound soppy, but they worked so incredibly hard to bring up me and my two brothers and sister.’
