Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa has revealed he was homeless and couch surfing before he got his break in the Netflix show.
Gatwa, who plays Eric Effiong in the hit show, told The Big Issue that he had a number of temporary jobs to try to support himself after moving to London from Scotland.
He told the magazine: "I am from Scotland and moved down to London when I was 21. I was working constantly - and at some good places.
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"I spent a year at the Globe Theatre, I did a lot of work at Kneehigh, who are a physical theatre company.
"But you have to feed yourself, you have to get to work, with rent, bills, travel, days off from temping to go to an audition. I couldn't seem to handle it all financially.
"I was supposed to move into a new place and it fell through. So for five months before Sex Education, I was couch-surfing among all my friends. I didn't have a home. I was homeless.
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"The only thing stopping me from being on the streets was the fact I had friends. But you can use up that goodwill. Or you feel scared to ask people for help. Your pride kicks in."
The 27-year-old went on to talk about how he was working in posh department store Harrods but was homeless at the same time.
He added: "I was thinking it was so mad, because if someone was to see me on the street - on my way to temping at Harrods in my trench coat and brogues, because you have to be so well-polished and look the part - they would never believe I was about to spend two hours on the phone to people trying to find where I could sleep that night.
"I couldn't believe I was homeless and working in Harrods. How many people must be going through this in London?"
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Gatwa also told the Big Issue he had his pals to thank for helping him land the role on Sex Education, revealing that one of his friends had to transfer him a tenner so he could top up his Oyster card to get to the audition.
Sex Education only landed on Netflix yesterday, but fans have already binge-watched it and are demanding a third series.
The first and second series of Sex Education are streaming on Netflix now.
Topics: uk news, TV and Film, Celebrity
