Millionaire on Rich House Poor House now pays broke dad £50k a year

A millionaire who swapped lives with a young, struggling dad for a television series has revealed that he now pays him £50,000 a year.

Steven Green and partner Gemma Sharples appeared on an episode of Rich House Poor House back in 2019.

The Channel 5 reality series sees two families from different backgrounds swap lives to see what it's like to walk in their shoes.

Property developers Steven and Gemma, who live in a five-bedroom house with their teenage daughter and granddaughter in North Yorkshire, were paired with Ben and Demi Gowland-Jeffries, a roofer and stay-at-home mum, who were living in a rented mid-terrace home in County Durham at the time.

While Steven and Gemma were left with £1,600 to spend a week after paying all their bills, Demi and Ben had just £57 for the basics and in case of emergencies.

Channel 5

The experience had a profound impact on both families, with Steven revealing that he actually went on to hire Ben.

"We're really close with Ben and Demi now," Steven told the Sun.

"We offered Ben a position with us job as a sales and marketing executive in our professional training business, so he's part of our team.

"He's getting on really well. His wage when he come on board with us was £10k and he's now making around about a £50k salary.

"He's bought a new motorbike and is doing his driving lessons at the minute, Demi's set up her own beauty business and they've actually moved into a bigger house and have now got another child."

Channel 5

Steven admitted that he had a difficult childhood, and claims the army helped give him a fighting chance in life.

He joined a coaching course, which he said gave him the focus he needed to make something of himself.

"I ended up going on it by chance and that really changed my life because it was all about coaching and mindset, having a clear vision and knowing what you want in life," the entrepreneur said.

Looking back on why they chose to sign up for the Channel 5 show, Steven said it was 'for his daughter'.

He explained: "I've always tried to bring her up the right way and try to make her appreciate money.

"I didn't want her to grow up with this 'take' mentality and we always felt like we'd done the right thing, but until you really put it to the test, you just don't know."

Channel 5

The 45-year-old said filming was super 'intense', and that he got a lot more from the experience that he initially thought.

"It wasn't until I actually went into their house, lived in that close proximity with them and slept in their bed that I really get a sense of what these people were going through.

"Demi's mum initially told us and then one of Ben's friends in the pub told us that Ben used to only eat one meal a day in order to be able to give Lillie what she needed."

He added: "It took me and Gemma back to our harder times when we particularly struggled.

"It was really weird. I really felt like I knew these people even though I'd never met them."