'worthy of help'
Ex Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff rages as her yoga business is denied taxpayer support
FORMER Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff has furiously messaged the Chancellor of the Exchequer after her yoga business was denied taxpayer support amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 42-year-old - who trained as a yoga instructor after quitting the BBC show - gave Rishi Sunak a piece of her mind online after tensions boiled over.
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Kristina tweeted: "I emailed your office 3 weeks ago asking who&;why made a decision that businesses over 51k in rates don’t get [grants].
"My Yoga Center gets zero & it’s a family owned business! Who decided that I’m not worthy of help?"
Dancer Kristina owns a yoga studio based in Northamptonshire, which is currently closed amid the crisis.
She runs classes from there - as well as offering health and nutritional advice after first getting into yoga 20 years ago.
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It offers Hot Yoga, Hatha, Vinyasa, Pre/Postnatal yoga, Children and Family yoga, Chair yoga for mobility issues, and Meditation.
But Kristina is worried about the future of her business as she continues to lose money while it's closed down.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced unprecedented support for companies and workers during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The business grants scheme has given more than £9billion to UK firms large and small.
The furlough scheme for workers, which businesses can claim for, has been extended until the end of October, which means staff can continue to receive 80 per cent of their current salary.
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The government has urged business owners to go to to check if the following schemes apply:
- The Small Business Grant provides businesses with a £10,000 grant per property.
- The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund provides firms with grants of up to £25,000 per property.
- If you’re looking for more targeted support, the government can provide 12-month, interest-free loans of up to £50,000 through its Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
- If you’re VAT-registered, you can seek deferral on payments until the end of June. You can also seek a business rates holiday if this applies to you.
- The government has given a further £617million to local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make discretionary grants.
Kristina starred on Strictly Come Dancing from 2008 to 2016, but left to start a family with her partner Ben Cohen after being paired with him on the show.
They now share a three-year-old daughter called Milena.
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