Brookside actor jailed for nine years over £13m modelling fraud
Foster, who portrayed Christian Wright on the Liverpool‑based soap, was originally handed an eight‑and‑a‑half‑year term in February 2025 for fraud and money‑laundering linked to a nationwide modelling scam.
Former Brookside star Philip Foster, 51, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after a court in Sheffield added a six‑month term for fleeing the country.
Foster, who portrayed Christian Wright on the Liverpool‑based soap, was originally handed an eight‑and‑a‑half‑year term in February 2025 for fraud and money‑laundering linked to a nationwide modelling scam.
He vanished before his trial, living in Spain until police arrested him in Alicante in September and extradited him back to the United Kingdom.
At the sentencing hearing Judge David Dixon told the absent defendant: “You were a coward, you decided to hide and didn’t come and face the music.”
The judge noted that Foster had built a “lifestyle based on the income from this illegal scheme”, pointing to designer watches, a Porsche bought for his daughter and photographs of him on luxury yachts.
During the trial, co‑defendants appeared in court and received their own custodial sentences for involvement in the fraud.
Foster’s defence counsel, Anthony Barraclough, highlighted the personal tragedies that had befallen his client, stating: “He has had a great deal going on, of a terrible nature, but he is nevertheless an absconder.”
Barraclough explained that Foster’s wife had died from cancer and his son Michael was murdered around Christmas 2025.
A six‑year investigation by National Trading Standards uncovered a sophisticated network of fake modelling agencies and photographic studios operating in Manchester, London, Leeds, Bristol, Coventry and Nottingham.
The operation targeted more than 6,000 aspiring models and their families, luring them with social‑media adverts that promised paid work and exposure.
Victims were invited to ostensibly free photographic shoots, then told they had passed a studio test but needed to purchase a portfolio of images to join a reputable agency.
Many were forced to take out credit arrangements or high‑interest payday loans to meet the upfront costs demanded by the fraudsters.
Instead of professional‑grade images, victims received low‑quality digital photographs that offered little chance of securing genuine modelling contracts.
Lord Bichard, chairman of National Trading Standards, said: “Foster’s cruel exploits left thousands of victims in serious debt, causing lasting emotional distress and significant financial pressures.”
The court heard that the fraudulent scheme ran for more than eight years, generating millions of pounds that funded Foster’s extravagant lifestyle.
Judge Dixon stressed that the severity of the sentence reflected both the scale of the deception and the deliberate decision to evade justice by fleeing abroad.
Foster will now serve his term in a high‑security prison, with the additional six‑month period ensuring he remains incarcerated for the full duration of his punishment.
The case serves as a stark warning to would‑be scammers operating in the modelling industry and highlights the vigilance of trading standards officials in protecting vulnerable aspirants.