Jonathan Ross 'paid for a new car' for contestant on Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing
Tilly Martin took part in the Jonathan Ross-fronted Channel 4 gameshow, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, last month.
Jonathan Ross reportedly splashed out thousands on a new car for a contestant who took part in Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing.
It has been claimed that the Channel 4 gameshow's host - who is worth roughly £30 million - bought a £25,000 Ford Puma for Tilly Martin, a North London-based barmaid who spends her spare time feeding the homeless, after she lost out on £100,000 on the programme last month.
A source told The Sun: "Tilly still lives with her mum and was really living hand-to-mouth.
"Jonathan felt bad for Tilly after she lost out, so he quietly paid for a new car out of his own money to help get her on her feet. It was a little out of the ordinary, but Jonathan just wanted to help and could see that a vehicle would make her life a little easier.
"He didn’t want anyone to know about his kind gesture, he just wanted to help – especially as she gave so much time to homeless people in the capital."
Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing saw Tilly be chained to Anthony Saxon Kearsley, a millionaire classic car businessman, for 24/7.
And on the show, Tilly said the £100,000 prize would be life-changing for her.
She explained: "If I won a share of £100,000, to me, that’s lottery money.
"I think Britain is divided. You’re either really, really rich or you’re on your a**hole. I work three jobs. I think when people first meet me, they think, 'Oh, she’s a bit much.'
"I swear quite a bit. It just happens.”
In October 2025, TV presenter Vanessa Feltz, 64, revealed just how generous Jonathan, 65, is.
She recalled to BANG Showbiz how he came to her aid on the day her ex-husband, surgeon Michael Kurer, abruptly left her and their two children, Allegra, 40, and 37-year-old Saskia.
Vanessa was "shaking and shivering" while on a school run, just moments after Michael - whom she married in 1983, divorced in 2000 - packed a suitcase and moved out of their family home, six weeks into Vanessa's 12-week mission to become as thin as fast as she could to make Michael fall in love with her again.
Broadcaster Jonathan took one of his children - daughters Betty, 34, Honey, 29, and 32-year-old son Harvey - to school at the same time and noticed that Vanessa was struggling, and he immediately "swept" the star up to comfort her.
Vanessa told BANG Showbiz at the 2025 Best Heroes Awards, sponsored by DFS: "One of my heroes is Jonathan Ross.
"On the day that I took my daughter to school, on the day that my husband had left us, [Jonathan] was there taking his own child, and he said, ‘Oh my gosh, are you alright?’
"And I said, ‘Well, no, not really.’
"And he said, ‘Come with me.’
"And he swept me up, and he took me for a hot chocolate to warm me up. I was shaking and shivering, and he was really fantastic, and I’ve always loved him ever since because he’s a kind man."
