Former Shameless star Jody Latham now owns a business empire worth £18 million

Former Shameless star Jody Latham is proving that life doesn’t always imitate art after revealing he now owns a cosmetic business worth £18 million.

The Burnley-born actor – who shot to fame as the smart-mouthed tearaway teenager Philip ‘Lip’ Gallagher in the long-running Channel 4 comedy-drama Shameless set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in Manchester – is a far cry away from the life of his character.

Now, over seven years after the show finished airing on TV screens, Latham has taken an interesting career pivot, and it’s one that is seeing him fly high in the beauty industry, with the 38-year-old being the owner of an £18 million cosmetics empire.

He has also recently signed a £9.5 million deal with a firm in South Korea to distribute dermal fillers for cosmetic treatments.

Speaking to The Mirror about how his new career began, Jody said: “I became friends with an extra [and] years later, I saw she was giving Botox and I said, ‘Jab me up.’

“I felt so good. I thought, ‘There’s got to be an in into this industry.’ I wanted to make people feel this good.”

Jody then decided to train to give beauty treatments such as Botox and dermal fillers and, after opening a few clinics four years ago, decided to focus on the distribution side and set up Epitique, but admits that he has learnt from his past mistakes of splashing the cash, and now puts all the money he makes back into the business.

He added: “I live in two-bed flat and drive a modest car. I’m pumping everything back into the company. It’s valued at £18 million.

“We’ll see where we are in a couple of years.

“I’ve had money before but not in my hands long enough. After series one of Shameless, I went with my first wage of £21,000 and bought an Audi convertible. I didn’t even think of rent or food.”

News of the success of Latham’s company arrives after it was revealed earlier this year that he had contracted coronavirus (COVID-19). Speaking at the time, Jody said: “I was tested straight away. I isolated until I got the results and when I got the results I couldn’t believe it, it was such a shock.

“I’m in lockdown with my family and we all had to quarantine.”

“You’re as anxious as anything thinking the worst. Some people haven’t been that fortunate to get over it. It’s a brutal time we’re in [and] I just pray we don’t have to go through this again in our lifetime.”

Following his experience, the actor said he aimed to donate 100,000 face masks to care homes and charities across the North West, through his company Safe and Protect UK. He explained: “Previously my background has been in cosmetics and aesthetics distributions, besides acting, but because of the COVID-19 outbreak, my suppliers and a lot of people in the industry turned their attentions to PPE.

“We’re giving 100,000 masks away and it’s first come, first served.

“Come on the website and there’s an option to apply for up to 1,000 free three-ply disposable face masks for you and your charity. All we need is the charitable number and if it’s a trust we can get the registered trust number. Be it a care home or charity shop, if you need them for your customers or for staff so they can serve customers, please get in touch with us.”

Despite his success in the cosmetics industry though, Jody said he hasn’t given up on acting and hoped “there’s more to come” after a “fantastic career”.