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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Where is Wife Swap's foul-mouthed Lizzy Bardsley now? How life went south for the reality TV star after her stint in the spotlight
She found fame on Channel 4 's Wife Swap, but starring on the reality TV show wasn't Lizzy Bardsley's only stint in the spotlight. The mother of eight, 52, from Milnrow, Lancashire, served as a controversial figure on the programme in 2003 alongside her then-husband, Mark Bardsley. Lizzy was such an unforgettable character on the show that clips of her standout moments are doing the rounds online today, entertaining generations who weren't able to catch the show live on air. However, in the time since she first appeared in the show, she's found herself at the forefront of various dramas, both on and off air. Lizzy used Wife Swap as a springboard to star in other reality television shows, including Bed and Bardsleys and Celebrity Fit Club. But the television persona didn't just find herself in controversial situations on screen, but also while the cameras weren't rolling. In the years post her television debut, Lizzy split from her husband, was found guilty of child cruelty, and convicted of benefit fraud. Here, the Daily Mail reveals what happened to the loudmouth mother-of-eight after she starred on Wife Swap. In 2003, Channel 4 scored an impressive five million viewers when airing an episode of Wife Swap starring Lizzy. In the episode, she swapped shoes - and husbands - with mother-of-two Emma Spry, uprooting from her Rochdale council house to a more affluent home in Devon. Lizzy, who hadn't worked for over a decade at the time, was made to take up Emma's office job during filming, while Emma struggled to keep up with life in the Bardsleys' chaotic home. The mother of eight lasted just three days before deciding that Spry was planning to sabotage her relationship, the Guardian reported, and ordered that she must leave her Greater Manchester home. Despite having only a few days' worth of material, the show proved to entertain the nation, attracting millions of viewers, and it was no doubt in part thanks to Lizzy's outspoken nature. In the 44-minute-long episode, Lizzy and her former husband swore a staggering 60 times, The Sun reported, with the reality TV star unafraid of sharing her true thoughts in heated exchanges. Despite her often-jaw dropping remarks, Lizzy thought she performed positively in the series, and told The Observer, 'I thought we came across really well. I felt like a little star.' After finding her place in the limelight, she went on to star in Celebrity Fit Club, where she lost over a stone, starred on The Weakest Link, and posed nude for a Sunday newspaper. But her newfound fame came crashing down as quickly as it came around when a series of scandals about Lizzy became known. In September 2005, Lizzy was found guilty of being a benefit cheat. She pocketed £3,800 for her various media works while raking in £37,500 a year in state handouts, which sparked outrage around the UK. Lizzy, then-32, was claiming four different benefits but was also being paid for TV appearances and newspaper and magazine articles. She claimed to have given the cash away to charity or to her family. But magistrates in Rochdale decided that she should have been aware the extra cash amounted to a change in circumstances and declared the benefits to the Department of Work and Pensions. She was found guilty of benefit fraud and was made to pay back the £4,879 overpayment, which was taken from her current benefits. Vincent Carr, prosecuting, also asked for £2,500 court costs. After the verdict, David Chad, defending Lizzy, said she intended to appeal against the court's decision. He said she continues to maintain she did not keep any of the cash for her own financial gain but gave it away. Afterwards anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt said: 'This is the reality of benefit fraud. Cheats take money intended for the most vulnerable in our society. 'The public rightly get angry about such anti-social behaviour and as with this case, with their support we will track down the fraudsters.' Then, one year later in 2006, Lizzy was arrested over child cruelty claims. In 2013, she was found guilty. Lizzy, then-33, had denied the three counts of wilful assault and one of wilful ill-treatment of a child under 16, according to Manchester Evening News. The prosecution claimed that the mother had punched the child, who remained anonymous, tried to knee him in the groin area, and bit him. Lizzy's mother and two sisters testified against her. She claimed that they were 'jealous and malicious' of her rise to fame. Her defence lawyer claimed that there was no evidence from official sources, such as a GP. She said, 'I have only lost my temper twice in my life. What people saw on Wife Swap was an extreme situation.' Things took another turn in 2013 when Lizzy split from her husband Mark after eight years of marriage. In a joint statement shared by Manchester Evening News, the couple said, 'Although we have split it is an amicable split. 'We wish to be left alone to either salvage our marriage or sort out our final dealings, those which must be done. 'We must be left alone for the sake of our children, who are at the forefront of our minds during this situation.' But despite all the dramas that came after the show, Lizzy, who has maintained a low profile since the 2010s, told The Daily Mirror in 2009 that she would do it all over again. She told the outlet, 'Yes, I'd do it all again because it gave my family so many opportunities. 'Our marriage was fine when we went on the show but he found the fame hard to deal with. I'm better off without him.' While Lizzy hasn't made any recent appearances in the media, she occasionally updates her followers on her X account, where she describes herself as a, 'Proud footy mum and footy nana'.
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Yahoo
Parents CLEARED of manslaughter but guilty of dangerous dogs charge after son, 3, mauled to death
The mum and dad of a three-year-old boy who was mauled to death by two large dogs on a farm have been CLEARED of gross negligence manslaughter. However, both Mark Twigg and Joanne Bedford were found guilty of being in charge of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control. Daniel Twigg suffered horrific injuries following the 'furious and prolonged' attack at Carr Farm, in Milnrow, Rochdale, on May 15, 2022. READ MORE: Jury in Manchester Airport police assault trial given majority ruling READ MORE: Major Bee Network bus rule change coming this week for 'hundreds of thousands' of passengers Mark Twigg, 43, and Bedford, 37, were renting out the farm from a family friend, Matthew Brown, who was in custody. They had agreed to care for his eight or nine 'untrained guard dogs' including breeds such as a Cane Corso, American Bulldog and a Boerboel. Sign up to the MEN Court newsletter here Signs were in place warning visitors about the dogs, one of which told visitors not to exit their vehicle and to 'beep their horn or ring' instead, while another said 'beware of the dogs they bite'. Manchester Crown Court heard how the dogs (including Tiny, a Boerboel, and Sid, a Cane Corsa) lived in an 'extremely unclean and impoverished environment, with no clean bedding and surrounded by their own faeces', and that they were not taken out of this environment for exercise. The couple had also been warned about the risk of Daniel being bitten by the dogs by an RSPCA inspector but had 'brushed off that warning.' The court heard there had been previous instances of another dog biting their eldest son in the past. Daniel was 'alone and unsupervised' On the morning of May 15, 2022, Twigg had gone to work whilst Bedford remained at the farm with Daniel and her daughter. She had taken Daniel for a bath after he had soiled his nappy and dressed him before they both went downstairs to the kitchen. He had asked to go outside. Bedford then went upstairs to get him some shorts and asked her daughter to 'keep an eye on him'. It was then she heard screaming and ran downstairs to find Daniel was 'face down, with puncture wounds to his neck, and covered in blood' in the dog pen. An ambulance was called and he was rushed to hospital, but sadly died that afternoon. "It is not known precisely how Daniel came to be in the side yard or what caused him to be attacked, but - self-evidently - he was alone and unsupervised at the time and able to enter the yard," prosecutor John Elvidge KC told jurors. Pathologist Dr Phillip Lumb recorded Daniel's medical cause of death as 'head and neck injuries (dog bites)'. The court heard the dog named Sid was shot at the scene by dog handlers. A post mortem examination showed the animal had not eaten for 12 to 24 hours before he was shot. The dog pen where both Sid and Tiny stayed was usually accessed via a gate, which had a sliding lock and carabiner clip to keep it locked. In evidence, Bedford claimed that she had gone to the toilet before going to get some shorts for Daniel to wear outside. She told jurors she had left Daniel with her daughter to 'keep an eye on'. She was upstairs when she heard the screaming, she said. She accepted that she knew the dogs had been aggressive in the past, and said it was her partner who had looked after them and fed them. Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE She claimed that she had not told the police about going to the toilet as she was 'scared' the police would 'judge her for being a bad parent'. Twigg did not give evidence in his defence but his counsel, Andrew Thomas KC, previously said: 'Mr Twigg was not there when Daniel was killed. He left for work four hours earlier and left him in the care of his mother." However after 17 hours and 28 minutes of deliberations, jurors unanimously found both Bedford and Twigg guilty of being in charge of a dog which caused serious injury while dangerously out of control. They were found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. The couple, of King Street, Radcliffe, will be sentenced on October 10. Both were granted bail until the next hearing.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Boy, three, died in a 'furious and prolonged' attack by 'dangerous' 50kg dogs after his parents allowed him to wander into their pen unsupervised, court hears
A three-year-old boy died in a 'furious and prolonged' dog attack at a farm after his parents allowed him to wander into a pen unsupervised, a jury heard today. Daniel Twigg was mauled to death at Carr Farm, in Milnrow, near Rochdale, on May 15, 2022, due to the alleged negligence of his parents Mark Twigg, 43, and Joanne Bedford, 37. The pair are on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of Daniel's manslaughter. The prosecution claim the toddler was allowed to enter a pen where two large, 'dangerous' 50kg dogs - one a Cane Corsa called Sid and another a Boerboel or Boerboel cross named Tiny - were kept. He entered 'alone and unsupervised', it's alleged, and 'without effective precautions being taken'. John Elvidge KC, prosecuting, said the dogs, which belonged to the farm owner and not Daniel's parents, were used as guard dogs and for breeding and were not family pets. They were 'deliberately kept outside' in enclosed pens, he said, and the jury heard how the RSPCA had warned the dogs were a danger but the warnings were ignored. While steps were taken to stop them escaping, Mr Elvidge said, 'no effective precautions were taken to keep Daniel out'. Daniel's parents Mark Twigg, 43, (left) and Joanne Bedford, 37, (right) pictured arriving for a previous court hearing, both deny charges of gross negligence manslaughter and being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control CCTV from a neighbour's property showed Daniel inside the pen at 12.50pm, the jury heard, and he's seen moving around inside for a few moments before disappearing from view. At the same time, a dog in an adjacent pen became 'excited, bouncing up and down in animated fashion'. The prosecution, Mr Elvidge said, say this 'coincides with the beginning of a ferocious and prolonged attack' on Daniel, who suffered catastrophic injuries, principally to his head and neck, which were consistent with the 'predatory behaviour of dogs'. A 999 call was made by Daniel's mother almost 20 minutes later after he'd been inside the dog pen, the jury heard. While it is not known for certain whether both dogs were involved in the attack, Sid was the 'likely' culprit. 'No-one suggests that these catastrophic events were intended or desired by his parents, but this attack and Daniel's death were utterly foreseeable consequences of negligently allowing Daniel to enter Sid and Tiny's pen alone and unsupervised,' Mr Elvidge said. 'It is the prosecution case that his parents were aware that Daniel could enter the pen if he was left unsupervised.' The jury heard how the dog pen, situated at the side of the farmhouse, was accessed through gates secured by a Karabiner clip - rather than a secure lock - that could 'easily' be slipped open. Daniel's parents had a 'long association' with the farm, owned by Matthew Brown, with Twigg working as an odd-job man and Bedford keeping horses there. The couple, who have two other children, leased the farmhouse from Mr Brown in March 2022 after he was remanded to prison when his girlfriend Deniqua Westwood made a complaint to police. Ms Westwood, who operated a puppy breeding business, moved out, and but it was agreed the guard dogs would remain and the couple would look after them. Twigg was paid to attend to the day-to-day security, running of the farm, and the dogs' care. The couple, who also had another eight or nine dogs to look after, including three of their own, stayed on at the farm despite having a home in Manchester when Mr Brown was released on bail, the jury heard. The prosecution case is that they continued to have responsibility for the dogs over weekends when he was away, and that was when Daniel was attacked. Mr Elvidge said the dogs had been kept in 'filthy and disgusting conditions' and the couple were aware of concerns raised by the RSPCA and a warning that Daniel 'might be bitten'. There were a number of incidents involving dogs at the farm escaping, biting people and fighting each other. Police were also aware that 'dangerous' dogs at the farm were being injured and neglected, the jury heard. RSPCA inspectors had expressed specific concerns about Daniel being around the dogs and mentioned a recent fatal attack involving a small child, but they were 'disregarded' by the couple, the court heard. And they were also warned about the dogs being loose and kept locked up in suitable areas. The RSPCA also told police on March 30 that 'something could happen if the dogs started fighting near the child,' Mr Elvidge said, and his parents had been advised to be careful. Rochdale Children's Services visited the farm just three days before the attack and expressed concerns, the jury were told. These included signs of 'neglect' of Daniel and that he was 'in danger' from the dogs. Twigg and Bedford, of Radcliffe, Bury, both deny charges of gross negligence manslaughter and being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control. The trial, due to last three weeks, continues.
