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How Lorraine Kelly avoids paying tax is blowing people’s minds – 12 value-added responses

Here’s a story to take your mind off Brexit for a moment or two.

Lorraine Kelly has won a massive legal case over an unpaid tax bill by arguing that she does not appear on TV as herself, but is instead an actor playing a cheery upbeat character called “Lorraine Kelly”.

And it’s melting people’s brains.

Here’s how the Guardian story starts (read the whole thing here).

The breakfast TV presenter Lorraine Kelly is performing the role “of a friendly, chatty and fun personality” when she appears on ITV each morning and not simply appearing as herself, a tax tribunal judge has ruled.

The presenter of the magazine show Lorraine “presents a persona of herself”, Judge Jennifer Dean ruled, and as such can be described as a “theatrical artist”, meaning payments to an agent were allowed as a tax deductible expense.

“We did not accept that Ms Kelly simply appeared as herself; we were satisfied that Ms Kelly presents a persona of herself,” Dean’s ruling stated.

We have a feeling this one is going to run and run. But just for starters, here are 9 of our favourite responses so far.

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