He’s the affable rocker who is vying for jungle supremacy in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
And it was an emotional Shannon Noll who paid a moving birthday tribute to his late father Neil, admitting money he made after Idol went to paying off creditors after the family farm failed.
Speaking with fellow cast-mate Fiona O’Loughlin, Shannon detailed the heartbreak and hardship his family suffered after Neil died after a tragic farm accident.
Tragic; An emotional Shannon Noll who paid a moving birthday tribute to his late father Neil on Monday’s I’m A Celebrity, admitting money he made after Idol went to paying off creditors after the family farm failed
‘It would be dad’s 73rd birthday today,’ an emotional Shannon said. ‘It is a pretty hard time for us. That’s how it happens I suppose
Continuing, Shannon said the tragedy was particulary hard on his mother Sharyn.
‘It’s ruined mum,’ he said. ‘Mum’s done it so tough – she will never be the same. For us…we had our own kids and that, our partners, we sort of had things to occupy our minds a little bit but she’s in a house in a cold bed every night.’
Heartfelt: ‘It would be dad’s 73rd birthday today,’ Shannon confided to Fiona O’Laughlin. ‘It is a pretty hard time for us. That’s how it happens I suppose’
Hard going: ‘It’s ruined mum,’ he said. ‘Mum’s done it so tough – she will never be the same. For us…we had our own kids and that, our partners, we sort of had things to occupy our minds a little bit but she’s in a house in a cold bed every night.’
Shannon then revealed the financial hardship the family then suffered, with the What About Me rocker admitting he had to spend most of the money he made post-Idol to keep the creditors at the door.
‘We tried to farm our way out of it and the next two years we failed because of drought,’ he said. ‘so that cost 40 or 50 grand at a time for fuel and feed and that sort of thing.
He continued: ‘we went further into debt so we had a family meeting and said: “If we fail again we’re gone,” so we had just enough money to buy another house and i went on idol and it all blew up from there.’
Admission; Shannon then revealed the financial hardship the family then suffered, with the What About Me rocker admitting he had to spend most of the money he made post-Idol to keep the creditors at the door
Shannon added that his raised profile drew the attention of creditors who began chasing sharyn vigorously to recover debts.
‘A few creditors were left over and they seen me on the show and chased mum really hard for the shortfall,’ he said
‘I wrote a cash cheque out for $209,000 to a tractor company,’ Shannon said, becoming even more emotional.
Hard times: ‘We went further into debt so we had a family meeting and said: “If we fail again we’re gone,” so we had just enough money to buy another house and i went on idol and it all blew up from there,’ Shannon added
Wolves at the door: ‘A few creditors were left over and they seen me on the show and chased mum really hard for the shortfall,’ he said ‘I wrote a cash cheque out for $209,000 to a tractor company.’
‘I thought I was doing the right thing. i was a farmhand, I’d never run a business before so I paid a lot of those debts out and consequently all the big money i made after the show, i paid bills with it.
He added: ‘ I didn’t blow it on yachts and all that sort of stuff.’
A clearly emotional Fiona hugged Shannon before saying, in a piece to camera: ‘when those beautiful eyes teared up at the end – he’s such a beautiful boy.’
Close: A clearly emotional Fiona hugged Shannon before saying, in a piece to camera: ‘when those beautiful eyes teared up at the end – he’s such a beautiful boy.’