Tom Hardy offers to pay crew's wages on new Guy Ritchie series after construction company goes bust

17 December 2024, 09:43 | Updated: 17 December 2024, 09:45

Tom Hardy is playing Santa this Christmas after the Hollywood star offered to pay the wages of an entire set building crew on Guy Ritchie's new series, after the construction company went bust.

Hardy, 47, offered to step in after approximately 50 freelance set builders working on Ritchie's new show, Fixer, faced a Christmas without wages when construction company, Helix 3D, went into liquidation.

However, it's reported that his offer was rejected by studio bosses.

Fixer, believed to be the working title of Ritchie's latest big-budget gangster series, is set to feature Hardy, Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan.

However, builders on the project were left devastated after it emerged the set construction company would not be paying out an estimated £250,000 in owed wages.

Helix 3D, which is expected to enter liquidation imminently, was paid by production company, 101 Studios, alongside MTV Studios, it's reported.

Leaked Whatsapp messages to workers from Helix 3D chief executive, Brian Dowling, admitted he was unlikely to pay staff this side of Christmas.

Now, in a last-minute bid to save Christmas for the show's crew, it's believed Paramount has stepped in to pay those left out of pocket - but only after the Venom star offered to help out financially.

The overdue payments relate to construction work carried out on the project ahead of filming over the summer.

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan share rare unseen image of Archie and Lilibet on family Christmas card

Read more: Head of Russia's nuclear and biological forces killed in Moscow by bomb hidden in an e-scooter

In a letter seen by The Times, organising official for the broadcasting union Bectu, Chris Hudson, spoke out on the matter and the treatment of freelancers ahead of the festive season.

He said: "Our members deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and compensated on time for their work.

"It is wholly unacceptable that they are facing significant financial precarity, particularly ahead of Christmas.

"This close to Christmas, our members are rightly very distressed, with many fearing they will be unable to cover necessities."

He added that the “unavoidable” lack of liquidity, blamed by the firm on issues linked to the sale of its offices, was not an acceptable reason to now pay the wages of its workers.

“What does seem to have been avoidable was the lack of foresight that this situation could occur, given the serious financial trouble Helix was in,” he added.

“What was also avoidable is the lack of information and transparency granted to our members throughout their employment as to Helix’s current state of affairs.”

It marks the latest collaboration between Brosnan and Mirren, following their joint work on Netflix adaptation, The Thursday Murder Club.