CORONATION Street legend Philip Middlemiss has been declared bankrupt for a second time after failing to pay off a large tax bill.
The star, who played love rat Des Barnes in the soap, failed to keep on top of his tax affairs.
A Coronation Street legend has been declared bankrupt for the second time
Philip Middlemiss played Des Barnes on the ITV soap
In 2012, he was declared bankrupt after a film he had poured his life-savings into failed to take off
HMRC were named as the petitioner in the High Court and sources close to the actor have revealed his outstanding bill including interest was “a hefty five figure sum”.
Middlemiss, 62, starred as Des Barnes in the soap for eight years from 1990 to 1998.
Des was married to Rovers Return landlady Natalie Horrocks in the soap, played by star .
It is the second time the actor has been made bankrupt by the taxman.
In 2012, he was declared bankrupt after a film he had poured his life-savings into failed to take off.
It forced Phil to take money from family and friends as he told the Manchester Evening News: “It was partly-funded by myself but I didn’t have the money to fund the rest of the film.
“Filming came to a grinding halt. It was nearly three-quarters of the way along the line. It has been a difficult time. Three-and-a-half years is a long time to fund myself without any income.
“I have had to get money from family and friends.”
He insisted at the time he could settle his debts, but instead found himself involved in a global bribery scandal that saw him lose his home.
The actor, who denied any wrongdoing, faced possible prosecution over the allegations.
Speaking at the time, he said: “I ended up losing the house, the car. It’s a very stressful situation.”
While the former TV star was in Africa for work, he says he accepted an offer from Airbus to help them sell aircraft to Ghana.
But he ended up being falsely accused of being involved in corruption over the £50million sale of three C-295 military planes to the West African state.
After leaving , Middlemiss, originally from Hartlepool, County Durham, went on to star in long-running ITV drama Where the Heart Is between 2000 and 2006.
Philip left Coronation Street in 1998 
