Boys and Girls winner arrested

Boys and Girls winner arrested

A man wanted in Ireland for alleged driving offences has been arrested in London after being spotted on the Channel 4 show, Boys and Girls.

Michael Furlong, 26, from Hayes in west London, won prizes worth up to £100,000 on the programme, which asks contestants to spend huge amounts of money.

His success was spotted by viewers in the Republic of Ireland, which led to a formal request for his arrest by the Irish police, the Gardai.

Mr Furlong is due to appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court on Saturday on the charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without motor insurance.

The charges relate to 15 March 2002 in Bagenalstown, County Carlow.

Ratings blow

A warrant had been issued in Ireland for his arrest and he will appear at Bow Street on two extradition warrants.

He was in The Crane pub in Watersplash Lane, Hayes, on Thursday when he was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers.

Mr Furlong was born in Ireland, but was believed to have been living in a caravan at a coach park in Hayes at the time he appeared on the Boys and Girls show.

The Channel 4 programme, which is produced by Chris Evans, features 100 men and 100 women competing for a £100,000 shopping spree.

It has struggled to gain viewers after being watched by 1.1 million viewers - 5% of the available audience - on its debut in March.

Three weeks into the series, Channel 4 decided to move it from its primetime Saturday night slot to a later time, in order to "reach more of its target age group".