FAILED businessman Marvin Baker has got his life back on track after winning the support of thousands of TV viewers.

The Prestwich entrepreneur, who lost everything when his publishing company collapsed, charmed his way to a jackpot of £15,000 in the ITV reality show Public Property. But the 25-year-old, who went from Porsche to pushbike after being plunged into thousands of pounds of debt, said: "The irony of it is that, although I won £15,000, I had to borrow cash for a taxi home!"

Marvin (25), of Milton Road, was one of seven contestants selected from more than 10,000 to take part in the show.

Viewers controlled the action by voting on life-changing decisions, which saw Marvin doing his mother's job as a courier, playing rugby for the London Broncos and cleaning. Marvin said: "I have only played rugby once and that was for this programme. It was terrifying. But the most humiliating thing was when I became a dogsbody for someone I owed money to."

One of the highlights for Marvin was during his time with the London Broncos.

He said: "One day I had to go and work with the cheerleaders and ended up looking at their website.

"It was the first opportunity in the series that I had to use my brain in a way that I can, and they loved my ideas."

Marvin's interest in computers looks set to continue as he hopes to plough some of his winnings into a website idea.

Part of the money will be used to pay off mortgage arrears after his house was almost repossessed and he plans to take some of his friends away for a weekend in Amsterdam.