This two-part BBC documentary charts the extraordinary rise and fall of Michelle Mone, from a working-class girl in Glasgow’s East End to a life of private jets, mega-yachts, and tabloid fame. After entering the House of Lords, Baroness Michelle Mone seemed to have achieved everything she ever dreamed of – fame, power, money and status. But it came at a price. Just when she had it all, her reputation crumbled.
Leaving school at 15, Mone’s sales flair and camera confidence took her from modelling to founding lingerie brand Ultimo with husband Michael. Her breakthrough bra, designed to boost cleavage, exploited the 90s preoccupation with sex, and smart PR – including a ruthless swap of model and partner of Rod Stewart, Penny Lancaster for his ex, Rachel Hunter – kept Ultimo in the headlines. Mone became a household name, with celebrity endorsements, media appearances and, in 2010, an OBE.
But her personal life unravelled. A messy divorce, trouble at her lingerie company, and her increasing political profile – including campaigning for the Union in Scotland’s 2014 referendum – drew headlines of a different kind. The following year, she was made a Baroness by David Cameron.
She met billionaire Doug Barrowman, and the pair launched a short-lived cryptocurrency venture. Then during the Covid pandemic, they accessed what would become known as the UK government’s VIP fast lane for PPE procurement. One of the companies awarded contracts was PPE Medpro, later linked to Mone and Barrowman despite their denials.
In 2022, the Guardian revealed the couple had secretly profited by £60 million from PPE deals worth over £200 million. While not the only beneficiaries of the VIP scheme, their lack of transparency drew public scrutiny.
Under investigation by the National Crime Agency and facing a lawsuit from the Department of Health over faulty PPE, Michelle Mone’s story raises questions about power, privilege, and accountability in modern Britain.
Episode One
Michelle Mone was raised in Glasgow’s East End in the 1970s, a place and time of little opportunity for working class kids. With traditional industries collapsing and record unemployment, she left school at 15 with no qualifications. For Michelle, the only way was up.
Starting work as a model and promotions girl in Glasgow, a knack for sales and intuitive understanding of the power of the camera gave her crucial skills and experience. Following in the footsteps of her childhood hero Richard Branson, Michelle started her own business. Together with her husband Michael, she launched the lingerie company MJM International.
Her star product was Ultimo, a bra with silicon inserts that appeared to increase the size of the wearer’s breasts. Ruthlessly exploiting the 90s preoccupation with cleavage – it was the age of the iconic Hello Boys advert with Eva Herzigova – and through clever promotion, Michelle made Ultimo a hit, getting the bra into department stores like Selfridges.
At the start of the new century, Michelle and her product were rarely out of the news. As pressure mounted on tabloids to drop topless images of women on Page Three, glossy photos of Ultimo models in their underwear became a welcome – and free – alternative.
In 2004, Michelle pulled off a brilliant – if brutal – PR coup. For two years, model Penny Lancaster had been the face of Ultimo. Penny was partner of Rod Stewart, and she and Michelle had become friends. Then Michelle replaced her with Rod’s ex-wife, supermodel Rachel Hunter. The tabloids loved it, dubbing the scandal “Bra Wars”.
As sales soared, celebrity models followed: Helena Christensen, Peaches Geldof, Mel B. By the mid-2000s, Michelle was arguably Britain’s most celebrated female entrepreneur. But success was to come at a price – and the strain on her marriage was beginning to show.
Episode Two
By the mid-2000s, Michelle Mone was arguably the most celebrated female entrepreneur in the country. She began appearing on discussion and entertainment shows, celebrated as the girl from the East End of Glasgow who had made it big. She was awarded an OBE at Buckingham Palace. Her rise seemed inexorable.
In 2010, Michelle and her husband Michael broke up, in a messy, acrimonious split. Headlines about Michelle slashing his tyres and putting laxatives in his drink took the place of glossy photographs of lingerie models. Michelle was becoming the story.
In 2015, she cut ties with Ultimo and moved to London. It was a new start.
It was Scotland’s Independence Referendum in 2014 that turned her into a political figure. Michelle campaigned on the side of Better Together, the movement to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom. Few businesspeople on the Unionist side were so outspoken. When Scotland voted No, Michelle had backed the winning side.
In 2015, David Cameron made Michelle Mone a Baroness, elevating her to the House of Lords – despite warnings from the Scottish business community about how commercially successful she really was.
Soon after, she met billionaire Doug Barrowman. In 2018 they launched a cryptocurrency and investment platform called Equi Capital. The project collapsed amid accusations of inadequate payment to workers.
In 2020, with the UK in the grip of the Covid pandemic, Michelle accessed what would become known as the UK government’s VIP fast lane for PPE procurement
It would later emerge that PPE Medpro had received two contracts worth more than £200m. And in 2022 the Guardian reported that Doug and Michelle benefitted from these with a profit of £65m.
PPE Medpro was not the only company to have had access to the PPE VIP fast lane – but Michelle and Doug’s denials and evasion made it look like they had something to hide.
In May 2025, the National Crime Agency announced an investigation. As of May 2025, it is ongoing. Michelle and Doug are waiting to find out if they will face criminal charges.
They are also being sued by the Department of Health for what it claims was inadequate PPE clothing. Michelle’s once-celebrated business image has been replaced by a growing cloud of scandal.
Erica Jenkin, Director, said: “Michelle’s story is a compelling and multi-faceted one to tell. I’m excited by the creative challenge of bringing it to life and exploring what her journey reveals about the societal shifts that have shaped contemporary Britain. “
