Ellis Matthews, 35, from Lancashire shot to fame after openly discussing on social media how her £2,300-a-month lifestyle was subsidised by British taxpayers’ money while living in Thailand before being jailed for 26 months for drugs offences
A notorious TikTok star from Lancashire, who boasted about living off UK benefits whilst residing in Thailand, has been imprisoned upon her return to the UK.
Ellis Matthews gained notoriety after candidly discussing on social media how her £2,300 per-month lifestyle was funded by British taxpayers‘ money, even providing tips on how to exploit the system. The 35 year old claimed that she was living on Disability Living Allowance during her four years overseas, having informed the DWP she suffered from six mental disorders.
However, in March 2025 her dream life abruptly ended when she and her son were arrested for overstaying her visa and confined in the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, a “hell hole prison” she described as overrun with rats and cockroaches. She was incarcerated for over three months before finally being deported without her son last year.
Within weeks of returning to Lancashire, Matthews was apprehended on suspicion of drug offences. She appeared for sentencing at Preston Crown Court Sessions House last Friday (March 13) after previously pleading guilty to possession of class A and B drugs, supplying class A and B drugs and involvement in the supply of class A and B drugs.
She received a total sentence of 26 months. Recorder Fiona Clancy informed Matthews that the 108 days already spent in detention in Thailand would be deducted from her sentence in HMP Styal, reports Lancs Live.
Matthews, who previously appeared on the reality show Judge Rinder and claimed to have frittered away a £6 million fortune, amassed over 16,500 followers on TikTok under the username ‘@mumontheruninasia’. She was apprehended following a police raid on her residence in Pattaya.
Despite the dreadful circumstances, Ellie declined to buy a flight back to the UK due to fears that social services would take Cairo into their custody. Upon her return, she disclosed that she had left her four year old with a relative in Thailand whilst she stayed with friends – and hit back at those criticising her lifestyle.
She confessed to MailOnline: “Leaving Cairo behind was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. But I had no choice because I’m the victim of an online hate campaign that is making me out to be a bad mother.
“I would never allow him to be passed around suffering in UK care. He has the right to a safe childhood.”
Ellis also maintained that the videos she posted about receiving benefits were “just a joke”, and that she never received a “single penny” of taxpayer’s money whilst residing in Thailand. “I was just lying in my videos to get more followers and make some money from my TikTok account”, she stated.









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