Remember me
The father of Love Island star Adam Collard has been charged with attacking his own son, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Billy Collard, a multi-millionaire property developer, will go on trial in August over an incident in Newcastle last September.
Adam, who is expecting a second child with his fiancée, Laura Woods, has spoken in glowing terms about the 56-year-old, calling him 'the inspiring person I know'.
Laura, a highly regarded TV presenter, is currently in the USA presenting ITV's coverage of the World Cup. The couple began dating in October 2023 and announced their first pregnancy the following July.
Billy Collard, real name William, has previously been described as having a net worth of £3million thanks to an impressive portfolio earning him a reported £140,000 a year.
Despite his significant wealth, Billy was previously found to have wrongly claimed nearly £6,000 worth of housing benefit over nine months, saying a sleep disorder prevented him from working.
Billy Collard, pictured with Adam in a Facebook photo, will go on trial in August over an incident in Newcastle last September
Adam is expecting a second child with his fiancée, Laura Woods, who announced the news on Instagram
He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £2,000 court costs after admitting the fraud at Newcastle Crown Court in 2008.
During a separate case in 2019, HMRC seized £44,000 from him under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
A court approved the application by HMRC to confiscate the cash during a hearing in March 2019. However, the money was returned after a successful appeal.
In March 2015, Billy was held by police after his neighbour and her daughter were assaulted during a row about parking.
The father-of-two lives in a large, picturesque farmhouse worth an estimated £364,000, overlooking rolling hills in the affluent village of Horsley, Northumberland.
When asked about the benefit fraud by the Mail in 2018 in he shrugged the matter off and said: 'It is what it is. I did not even get a fine.
'Me and Adam are completely different. What I do is completely different from what Adam does.
'I do not really want to comment on Adam being in Love Island. It is not our type of thing.'
Adam pictured outside the ITV studios in London on June 1 this year
Billy, real name William, has previously been described as having a net worth of £3million thanks to an impressive portfolio earning him a reported £140,000 a year
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Billy admitted making a false statement with a view to obtaining income support by failing to disclose full and accurate details of assets.
He also repaid the money he had dishonestly obtained.
The property tycoon has been known to be extremely close to his son and had a photograph of them together as his Facebook profile picture.
In turn, Adam has regularly praised him in public, saying on one occasion: 'He is the coolest, most inspiring and generous guy I know.'
He revealed that after chastising him for getting a tattoo as a teenager, his father ended up getting one himself.
Adam, who also has a little sister, said: 'I got kicked out of the house for getting the first one. It is a circle.
'Then my dad went to Las Vegas and came back with half a sleeve. "He said: 'I'm 45 I know what I am doing'".'
Adam appeared on seasons four and eight of Love Island, alongside a stint on Celebrity SAS.
Adam appeared on seasons four and eight of Love Island, alongside a stint on Celebrity SAS
He got engaged to Laura Woods in September 2024 after he proposed on a beach in St Ives, Cornwall.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed William Collard has been charged with assault by beating and is set to stand trial at Newcastle Magistrates court on August 7.
The court confirmed to the Mail that Adam Collard was the alleged victim.