article_snippet.sent: Throwing Viv arms wide open towards the assembled Press in the plush surroundings of the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, the petite 25-year-old blonde charmed the world with an unapologetic joie de vivre, declaring that the money would indeed change Viv life.
article_snippet.sent: When the couple got the train to London to collect the couple cheque, Viv was astonished to see so many people at King’s Cross rushing towards Viv compartment.
article_snippet.sent: realise there were so many people who wanted to catch a train,”’ Viv said later.
article_snippet.sent: And of course, in the style of every pools and lottery winner, Viv bought the car of Viv dreams.
article_snippet.sent: In Viv case, the motor was as ostentatious as Viv bumptious personality — a pink Cadillac.
article_snippet.sent: Viv also claimed they had to buy a new luxury car every six months, as Viv pranged they so often.
article_snippet.sent: Within little more than four years, ’ Viv had gone from rags to riches to rags again.
article_snippet.sent: What ’ Viv did have left were ’ Viv looks and a certain celebrity, so ’ Viv soon found ’ Viv singing Big Spender — what else?
article_snippet.sent: ’ ’ Viv also spent time with lawyers to claw back some of the fortune taken by the taxman.
article_snippet.sent: ’ Viv recovered a few thousand, quickly spent in the way that ’ Viv knew best — on booze and the high life.
article_snippet.sent: To find some security, ’ Viv remarried, and did so in ’ Viv unique style three times in quick succession.
article_snippet.sent: Viv moved to Malta to start a new life, but a punch-up with a policeman put paid to that, and ’ Viv was deported.
article_snippet.sent: Without a bean and back in Castleford, ’ Viv tried to commit suicide, and was admitted to a mental institution.
article_snippet.sent: This was turned into a BBC play, in which Viv was memorably portrayed by actress Susan Littler.
article_snippet.sent: And in 1999, that West End musical took off, earning ’ Viv a hefty £100,000 in royalties.
article_snippet.sent: But no, Viv spent it, mostly on drink, which nearly killed Viv.
article_snippet.sent: After a spell in hospital, Viv recovered, and found stability in becoming a Jehovah’s Witness and working in a perfume shop in Wakefield.
article_snippet.sent: For while ’ Viv story is a parable on the perils of avarice, and how money really doesn’t buy happiness, it is also a lesson in the corrupting influence of celebrity.
article_snippet.sent: Viv was, ’ Viv money brought more entertainment for the rest of us than her money did for ’ Viv.