Ayo Akinwolere: Mum marched me to the shop to get my first job

Ayo Akinwolere moved from Nigeria to Birmingham with his family in 1991, aged eight, and became a Blue Peter presenter at 23 after working as a runner at the BBC. During his five years on the programme he bungee jumped from a helicopter at 11,000ft and swam a record-breaking five deep-water miles in the Palau Trench in the Pacific. He went on to present Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge and work on the regional news programme Inside Out. He now hosts The Athletic FC football podcast. Akinwolere, 41, founded the production company MilkFirst Productions with the film-maker Alex Thomas, and lives in south London with his girlfriend.
Right now, nothing. I don’t carry cash. Those days are over. I do keep a stash of change in a jar at home for the window cleaners, who come every six to eight weeks. They’re old-style wheelers and dealers.
I have one credit card with Santander. My first experience of credit cards was on a night out at university — I don’t think it would happen now, but a bank had a stall in a club offering them, so I signed up to one and didn’t remember until two weeks later when a card arrived in the post. Of course I absolutely maxed it out. I think it was about 29 per cent APR. Let’s just say that was the beginning of learning to manage my debt and not repeat that situation ever again. Now I have the Martin Lewis mindset of positive debt. I manage it well, pay it off on time and show that I am responsible with my credit.
I’m a bit of both. I come from an immigrant family who arrived in England with not much money. My parents managed to buy their first home after ten years of saving. My mum worked as a nurse for the NHS but my dad couldn’t find work for a long time. I learnt the hard way to always put money aside. I didn’t see my parents treat themselves. Many immigrants work very hard but don’t enjoy any wealth. But I believe it’s ok to be rewarded for your efforts. Sometimes I like a little reward, whether that’s a new suit, artwork or a nice holiday.
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Working in a shop in Birmingham when I was about 15. My mum told me to print off my CV and then marched me from the sofa to the shop and told me to ask the manager for an interview. I think the guy was scared when he saw my mum waiting for me and so he offered me a job. It was about £3 an hour, which as a teenager was pretty good money. I was sacked after six weeks, though, after I turned up very hungover and left the till open when I had to run to the toilet to be sick. I came back to find the manager looking at the till and then at me. He said you can’t stay. I had to explain it all to my mum.
I have a property in Margate, which I rent out. For me it’s about reshaping generational narratives. I want to pass something on to my future children. For now I rent in south London with my partner. We’re planning to buy a place together in the Kent suburbs.
There’s a weird moment that’s always stuck with me, when I first landed the Blue Peter presenter job. I was plucked from obscurity going from a runner to a TV presenter. My dad wasn’t working at the time and I remember seeing my first pay cheque. It was a fair bit of money and more than my dad had earned. I never disclosed my pay to them but I got a sense I was better off. These days, I might do a corporate job that pays three times more than the TV job and is more than what some people might earn in six months. It creates a strange dynamic.
I won’t go into the exact figures but last year was the most financially successful of my career. I’ve really benefited from working in mainstream broadcasting. Presenting the Premier League and then the Commonwealth Games a couple of years ago has lifted my profile and means I’ve been able to move into the world of public speaking. I gave my first international keynote speech in Peru last year. Also I have a production company and we’re seeing the results of sales of a documentary we made. It’s all very rewarding.
There was a time after I left Blue Peter when I gave an interview about diversity in the workplace and many doors seemed to shift a little for me after that. I don’t know if people were afraid of talking to me or approaching that subject. I decided to go travelling to South America for a few months. It wasn’t a hard place to eat cheaply and live well and not spend too much money. But it taught me perspective; even when you think you’re hard-up, there are people in a much worse position.
I still don’t think I am. Maybe because I operate frugally in life. Or maybe to stop myself getting above my rank. I don’t think it’ll be until I’m at the point where I have generational wealth that I would feel wealthy. Until that is achieved in the long term, then I think I’m just chipping away and enjoying life like everyone else.
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A bit of both. I have my own private pension and investments. I started investing after the dad of a posh ex-girlfriend asked me, what are you doing with your money? It took me by surprise. He showed me his portfolio on an app and I thought, this is really important. People don’t generally have these conversations and it was a big life lesson. There’s something about really wealthy people, they might have expensive clothes but no big logo on it, but then you visit their houses and, OMG, that’s where the money is at. It taught me to be more financially literate.
I bought a piece by a favourite photographer of mine that I had wanted to own since I was in my twenties. I’m not going to say how much I bought it for but it has gone up significantly. I’m really into investing in upcoming artists. I’m trying to understand the art world more. My property in Margate has been a really good investment too. Also, I have a minor investment in the design brand Poodle & Blonde. I invested because Kierra Campbell is black and Whinnie Williams is a successful businesswoman and for me it’s important to invest in female-led businesses. I love seeing their business go from strength to strength.
When I first started Blue Peter I bought a Smart Brabus sports car for £17,000 but the insurance cost £2,000 a year. I was earning decent money at the time but decided to sell it after a year and a half as the insurance was too much. I now have a city car and pay £400 insurance.
Definitely eating out. I love food. When I’m cooking I will buy really extravagant ingredients and even drive 30 minutes or walk an hour to find them. I have ADHD so I get very excited and have tunnel vision. I like good posh wine and once spent £60 on a bottle, which turned out to be not to my taste. But I spend a considerable amount eating out, especially when in London. It’s my biggest indulgence. I also love to travel and I do splurge then as I want to eat well and stay in nice places, especially with my partner as we don’t have much time off together.
I don’t make that many extravagant purchases, but I do like spending money on good long-lasting products. When I was growing up my dad always used to say, ‘I don’t mind you buying something nice, just make sure it lasts’. I bought a pair of Paul Smith shoes about five years ago for £250, but I’m still wearing them, they’re immaculate. I also buy well-made suits. A really good expensive suit never goes out of style. I’m more about buying less, and buying better.
My parents, who now live in the US, are near to retiring and are very close to paying off their home. I would take that off their hands and make sure they don’t have to think about money again. It was my mum’s 70th this year, so my siblings and I grouped together to pay for her to fly business class when she next visits London.
What you can gain through compound interest. I ran a compound interest calculator ages ago and it really made me think that if I had put in, say, £50 a month from my first job at 16 I’d have accumulated a lot of money. We don’t talk about money enough in this country. There’s a lot of money flying about but no one wants to admit that they’re really rich. A lot of it is generational wealth. If I am lucky enough to have children, I want to be in that position.