Helen Flanagan shared a series of revealing photographs in a plunging red playsuit on Instagram on Monday after putting her old clothes up for sale on Vinted.
The 36-year-old former Coronation Street actress paired the red outfit with high heels and a black leather coat as she went on a night out. The social media posts followed her recent admission that she was forced to sell items from her wardrobe after experiencing a string of money troubles.
Flanagan had previously uploaded photographs of clothing pieces she planned to list on her Vinted page after speaking publicly in recent months about the financial pressures she has faced as a single mother.
She shares three children with her former partner, 37-year-old footballer Scott Sinclair: daughters Matilda, 11, and Delilah, eight, and a five-year-old son, Charlie. The couple split in 2022 after 13 years together, though they were never married.
Vinted sales and financial pressures
According to previous statements from the actress, her financial difficulties began around the time her relationship with Sinclair unravelled. Once reported to have had a net worth of £3.5 million, Flanagan revealed she was struggling financially as a single parent and claimed she could not afford taxis to take her son to nursery.
Vinted is an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace founded in Lithuania in 2008 that allows private individuals to buy and sell pre-owned clothing, shoes and accessories directly through a mobile app and website. Flanagan first rose to national prominence in 2000 as a child actress playing Rosie Webster on the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, which follows residents of the fictional Greater Manchester town of Weatherfield.
She remained a regular cast member on the ITV serial drama until 2012 before returning for a second stint between 2017 and 2018, alongside appearances on British reality television programmes such as I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
Sale of the Lancashire family home
Flanagan's night out comes shortly after the sale of the six-bedroom Lancashire property where she had lived with her three children. The Daily Mail reported last month that Sinclair sold the house for £945,000, a much lower figure than the £1.5 million asking price when the home was originally put up for sale in May 2025.
Records held by HM Land Registry, the United Kingdom government department responsible for recording the legal ownership of land and property across England and Wales, show that the house was bought for £945,000 by a couple who run a property management company. Sinclair had originally purchased the property in June 2021 for £840,000.
The footballer paid for the residence in cash and was listed as the sole registered owner. The couple ended their 13-year relationship just one year after moving into the home, and while the exact financial arrangements between the pair remain unclear, Sinclair appeared to be the driving force behind the sale.
A friend of the television personality previously explained why Sinclair wanted to sell the family home. "Scott pays for the house and all the bills and he's decided a six-bedroom place is way too big for Helen on her own with the kids," the friend said.
Dispute over renovations and £15,000 sofa
The property sale followed reported disagreements between the former partners over household expenses and interior work. Sinclair reportedly wanted to stop paying maintenance and bills for the house, whereas Flanagan argued that she had put much of her own money into renovating the property, having parts of it redecorated and remodelled.
A £15,000 sofa also became a major point of contention between the pair after their split. Amid the tensions, Sinclair was said to have stepped in to block the sale of the settee in May after Flanagan listed it for sale on Instagram for £3,950.
Sinclair is an English professional footballer who has played primarily as a winger during a senior career spanning two decades. After starting out at Bristol Rovers and joining Chelsea as a teenager, he went on to play for clubs including Swansea City, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Scottish side Celtic and Preston North End.
Career frustration and possible move to London
In an Instagram video posted shortly after the house sale was completed, Flanagan spoke candidly to her followers about feeling unsettled over both her living situation and her acting career. "I've not really been sure of myself recently," she admitted in the video.
"I kind of feel like... I'm turning 36 in August, I've just done this house move, I'm kind of unsure where I am like career wise as well," Flanagan said. "There's a lot of change going on and I don't know, I've just felt a bit weird in myself."
Addressing where she plans to settle next after moving out of the Lancashire property, the actress said she remained undecided about relocating south. "I'm in two minds about moving to London. I was going to buy here then I decided not to buy here so everything's just been a bit, like, all over the place," she explained.
Alongside deciding whether to buy a home locally or move to London, Flanagan said her main focus is returning to acting work. "I've just felt frustrated with work as well because I really want to act and basically, I just want a job at the moment and feel frustrated in that way," she said.
