After growing up in a working-class council estate in Salford, Jason Manford went on to create a life far from the one he was born into. Now one of the most successful comedians in the UK, with a career spanning nearly three decades, he is now estimated to be worth £1.5million thanks to his extensive UK stand-up comedy tours and TV presenting roles such as 8 Out Of 10 Cats.But behind his stellar career, the father-of-six, 45, has been hit with financial challenges.Jason has been handed a hefty tax bill on his holding company Invisible Man Ltd, which was placed into voluntary liquidation in 2017, to cover PAYE and National Insurance, and totalling £1.1million. It comes after he was forced to sell parts of his ten-home property portfolio to pay for costs related to his 2017 divorce settlement from his first wife, Catherine, in 2013. How Jason Manford made his millions as he’s ‘forced to shell out a whopping £1.1 million tax bill after costly divorce from first wife Catherine led him to sell his property empire’ Jason was forced to sell parts of his 10-home property portfolio to pay both the huge tax bill. Pictured is one of the homes in Cranbrook, Kent, worth £172,000Jason banked more than £3million from the sales to help him settle the bill for his legal split from Catherine.A report to Companies House obtained by The Sun said: ‘The principal activity of the company [Invisible Man Ltd] was that of a holding company, which held a portfolio of investment properties.’ The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Jason for comment.Despite the sales, Jason still earned enough profit for his company Gerald Dean Limited to have £2.1million in assets. The star had built up his rental property empire after finding success in comedy, snapping up homes in Greater Manchester as buy-to-let investments. In 2022, it was revealed that he doubled his fortune to more than £2million in the space of a year.Since then, his career has gone from strength to strength, and he is currently presenting the drive-time show on BBC Radio 2.A stand-in presenter typically earns a daily or per-show fee rather than a published annual salary. However, this can scale from roughly £400 to more than £1,000 per show depending on their profile and the specific time slot.Sara Cox, the main presenter for the radio timeslot, earned between £320,000 and £324,99 for the 2025-2026 financial year. It has been claimed that Jason has been freeing up his assets to ‘settle the bill for his 2017 legal split from his first wife’. Left: A property in Bramhall Lane, Stockport. Right: A home in Bolivia Street, Salford Jason’s company Invisible Man Ltd lists this property in Liverpool Road, Irlam, Salford, which sold for £140,000, according to The Move Market Two of Jason’s homes that were up for sale, including one in Pendlebury, Manchester, which sold for £120,000 and another in Stretford, worth £170,000 Jason is currently presenting the drive-time show on BBC Radio 2 Earlier this year, Jason took a lead part in the UK premiere of the Broadway musical Something Rotten for five weeks, staged in Manchester He was a team captain on 8 Out Of 10 Cats alongside Sean Lock and host Jimmy Carr for six seasonsEarlier this month, Jason was announced to star with Gary Barlow in a new travel series, Gary Barlow’s Food And Wine Tour: New Zealand.The pair will sample food and wine while meeting local producers, chefs, winemakers and communities as they discover how food and drink connect people, stories and the natural world.Jason described the experience as ‘one of the biggest privileges of my life’, adding: ‘I’ve never seen such an incredible country, the scenery, the people, the food and of course, discovering wine with Gary and a host of experts. ‘Me and Gary have been mates for years but to have so much time together talking, laughing, learning and getting to know each other away from the pressures of work and life was a real treat.’I came back with some fantastic memories and I cannot wait to take my own family back to New Zealand.’Elsewhere, he is preparing for his UK comedy tour, A Manford All Seasons, next month.He currently has 12 dates at venues across the UK, with ticket prices ranging from £22-48.Earlier this year, Jason took a lead part this year in the UK premiere of the Broadway musical Something Rotten for five weeks, staged in Manchester. The comedian was confirmed right after opening night that the show completely sold out its entire first week. While specific salary figures for the production were not disclosed, lead or principal actors typically command weekly rates starting around £3,600 to £11,000 per week. Last year, it was revealed that Jason had put his £2.4million family home up for sale.The comic is selling the 100-year-old seven-bedroom property that has been home for him and his second wife, TV producer Lucy Dykes. The Edwardian property, set in leafy Cheshire, close to Stockport where he was born, is described as having ‘original period features’ and also has a hot tub, gym and large roof terrace and garden.The sale listing stated: ‘This exquisite home harmoniously blends traditional elegance with contemporary living, making it a unique opportunity for those seeking a spacious and stylish residence in a desirable location’.Publicly available records show Jason and his wife bought the house in 2019 for £1,375,000, and they have put it on sale for more than double what they paid.There are currently no updates confirming whether the property has officially sold or remains on the market. Last year, it was revealed that Jason had put his £2.4 million family home up for sale The comic is selling the 100-year-old seven-bedroom property that has been home for him and second wife TV producer Lucy Dyke (both pictured) and their two children for six yearsDuring his impressive career, Jason has hosted many shows for the BBC and ITV, including Children In Need, The Olivier Awards, Unbeatable, Sunday Night at The Palladium and The Royal Variety Performance.He has appeared as a judge in two series of ITV1’s Saturday night show Starstruck and has hosted BBC One’s primetime show Big Night of Musicals for the past five years.On stage, Jason has starred in numerous musicals in the West End and across the UK, including Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Guys and Dolls, Curtains and The Wizard of Oz.The comedian married Catherine in October 2007, and the pair went on to have four children, three daughters and a son, before their relationship broke down.The BBC presenter has spoken candidly about the failure of the marriage, acknowledging it ‘disintegrated’ because he failed to devote sufficient ‘care and time’ to his wife.In 2010, the Manchester-born star was forced to quit his job as host of the BBC1’s The One Show after he was caught swapping saucy Twitter messages with a female fan and he admitted having internet sex sessions with a porn star and 12 fans.At the time, he admitted that his wife called him a d***head’ but was still willing to give their marriage a go.He said: ‘Hopefully, me and my wife have another 60 years together. That is the most important thing.’Jason went on to wed TV producer Lucy in 2017, the same year his divorce was settled.Lucy’s credits include Black Mirror, The Split and Ripper Street. The couple have since had a daughter and a son together.Speaking of his large family in 2024, he said: ‘It’s a lot, it has its difficult moments like any family but at the end of the day there’s more love to go around.’We get by and we’ve got a lot of help, my parents live nearby, my ex-wife, my wife, everybody pitches in and makes sure it works and it does for the most part.’