Ray Quinn has said he started working as a carpet fitter during the Covid-19 pandemic because he did not want to “sit around and feel sorry for myself”.
The former X Factor star, who came second to Leona Lewis in the 2006 series of the talent show, said he joined the family trade after work in the entertainment industry was put on pause.
He told the Mirror he even laid carpets in the real Brookside Close in Liverpool, the setting for the Channel 4 soap Brookside where he began his acting career playing Anthony Murray from 2000 to 2003.
Quinn told the paper: “It was the most humbling feeling. Fond memories came flooding back.
“I had to get a picture, it was like going back in time.”
Quinn said he worked as a Hermes delivery driver before joining the carpet fitting business, saying: “I didn’t want to sit around and feel sorry for myself.”
He left the delivery job after three months, adding: “It just didn’t stop. You can have up to 150 parcels in your van and you’re out from 8am to 6pm.
“It helped put food on the table at the time, but it was reported I was earning £11.40 an hour… I definitely wasn’t on that much!”
