EXCLUSIVE – Boris Becker goes blond as he is seen for first time since prison release: Tennis star reveals dramatic new look as he ditches the silver hair for £435,000 German TV interview
- Becker, 55, sat down with Steve Gatjen for the interview to be released tonight
- The Wimbledon champion had white hair in April at Southwark Crown Court
- Boris Becker was released from HMP Huntercombe after serving eight months
Convicted tennis ace Boris Becker is seen for the first time since being released from prison – and his first appointment was with a hairdresser to dye his silver locks strawberry blond, MailOnline can reveal.
Pictures obtained exclusively reveal how the three times Wimbledon champion went for the dramatic change of look as he sat down for a controversial £435,000 paid interview with German TV.
The last picture of him before today was taken in April when he was sentenced to two and a half years jail at Southwark Crown court and showed him thicker set, with a mass of white hair.
Becker, 55, sat down with German TV presenter Steven Gatjen for the hour long interview which as MailOnline revealed earlier this week will be broadcast tonight on Sat1.
Convicted tennis ace Boris Becker is seen for the first time since being released from prison – and his first appointment was with a hairdresser to dye his silver locks bright blonde
Besides the German television interview Becker has also signed a contract with Apple TV+ and several book deals are in the pipeline
British broadcasters are also said to be keen on the interview with the show being distributed in London through Red Arrow Productions with an insider saying: ‘There has been considerable interest and talks are ongoing but any announcement would come from the channels.’
In the pictures released ahead of the broadcast Becker appears thinner and his hair is longer and he is dressed in a black top.
He tells how he feared being sent to a shared cell with ‘rapists and murderers’ after being initially sent to Category B HMP Wandsworth following his conviction.
He was then moved to the Category C HMP Huntercombe prison in Oxfordshire for the remainder of his time in jail before being released and flown back to Germany on a private jet by the TV station.
Since then he has not been seen in public and he is said to be holed up in a luxury hotel near Munich while final editing takes place on the documentary.
But there has been a bitter backlash against the decision to pay £435,000 for the interview with viewers complaining to the TV station and on social media.
Furious Jorg Gaffrey wrote on Sat1 Twitter profile: ‘It’s a mess to offer a criminal this stage and pay so much money, rather donate the money much more sensible.’
While another stormed: ‘How can you throw money down a criminal’s throat. It’s all about sensationalism, I hope the ratings are zero. Pathetic.’
Uwe Thamm said: ‘You should do interviews with people who have worked hard for 40 years and are now having trouble making ends meet!
‘And not with a pompous asshole named Becker being held accountable for cheating!!!’
‘Another said: ‘sat1 must be out of his mind shelling out so much money for an ex-con!
‘How many homeless people would be better helped with this amount?’
While a hard hitting editorial in the respected Westfalsiche Rundschau slammed the TV station and said: ‘Boris Becker is not a hero but a convicted criminal.
‘It’s perverse how a criminal is courted here in the media in Germany and millions thrown at him.
‘Any honest law-abiding person would just shake their head.’
A spokesperson for Sat1 told MailOnline they would not discuss the fee saying:’ Trust is a valuable asset in cooperation and this includes Sat1 not quoting from contracts.’
While Becker’s lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser would only say cryptically in an email: ‘My client does not receive any money to talk about his crimes.’
He has not returned to Leimen where his elderly mother Elvira, 87, lives and who today was at home on her own after a meals on wheels delivery man let themselves in (pictured in 2019)
Besides the German television interview Becker has also signed a contract with Apple TV+ and several book deals are in the pipeline, as well as a lucrative job with his home country’s tennis federation.
Bankrupt Becker is banned from doing business in Germany until 2031 because of the bankruptcy proceedings against him but he will funnel the goldmine earnings through a company set up by his girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Montiero.
The high flying financial risk analyst was by his side for the trial earlier this year at Southwark and is believed to be with him now in Germany.
She has set up a UK company called BFB Enterprises – Boris Franz Becker – and it will allow him to keep the money he makes although creditors in Germany are said to be looking at how to get their hands on it.
Father of five Becker was found guilty of hiding £2.5 million of assets to avoid paying debts at his trial in Southwark and was freed early under a special Home Office arrangement for foreign prisoners.
He has not returned to Leimen where his elderly mother Elvira, 87, lives and who today was at home on her own after a meals on wheels delivery man let themselves in.
A carer who stopped by said: ‘She is doing fine and just looking forward to being with her son. She has no idea where he is, but they have spoken on the telephone.’
Becker won his first Wimbledon title in 1985 as a 17-year-old and went on to win it twice more as well as the US Open once and the Australian Open twice, earning more than $25 million in prize money on his 15 year career.
Before he left Huntercombe last week he gave away his clothes including a baseball cap, flip flops, bathrobe and T shirt to inmates taking with him only pictures of his family.
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