Is this an unpaid tax bill I see before me?
In the case of award-winning actress Cush Jumbo, 39, it certainly is. And a bankruptcy threat looms.
The acclaimed performer, who last year appeared as Lady Macbeth alongside David Tennant’s Macbeth in London’s West End, was the subject of a bankruptcy hearing at London’s High Court yesterday.
And it seemed the so-called Scottish play’s famous curse was in operation in November when both stars fell ill simultaneously, leading to three cancellations – shortly before it was revealed HMRC had filed a petition for bankruptcy against Ms Jumbo.
At the time her spokesman insisted to the Mail on Sunday: ‘This is a private matter, currently being resolved with HMRC.
‘Cush is not, and has never been, at risk of bankruptcy.’
This week’s hearing at the High Court told a different story – after the HMRC’s petition for her to be declared bankrupt led to a hearing in front of a judge.
The HMRC’s counsel, Jacquille Jarrett, however accepted a request from Ms Jumbo’s lawyer to adjourn the case for 12 weeks, ‘to allow Miss Jumbo time to settle the debt’.
Ms Jumbo’s lawyer, a Mr Dawson, said: ‘Miss Jumbo aims to have the debt paid off in full within a 12 week period.’
Cush Jumbo . 39 (pictured on September 18, 2022) was the subject of a bankruptcy hearing at London’s High Court yesterday
It comes only weeks after she appeared alongside David Tennant (pictured) as Lady Macbeth
Her lawyers told the court the actress (pictured with ex-husband Sean Griffin) aimed to pay off the debt in a 12-week period. The case has been adjourned until April
The case was adjourned until April.
Ms Jumbo, raised in south-east London, has an OBE and rose to fame appearing in UK TV dramas Vera and Dr Who spinoff Torchwood, before lucrative roles in American series The Good Wife and The Good Fight.
Her work on the London stage has secured repeated garlands, with a notable Olivier nomination for taking the lead, traditionally male, role in Hamlet.
In 2023 however she endured a divorce from husband Sean Griffin, with who she shares a young son, and later said she would be ‘glad to leave her 30s behind’.
A production company she started also had to be struck off in 2022
Ms Jumbo was not in court. Last night her spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
