Philip Foster, a former actor known for his role in the soap opera Brookside, has been the subject of an international manhunt. Foster has spent years as a fugitive from British justice following his involvement in a multi-million pound fraud.
Foster masterminded a massive £13.6 million fraud. The scheme operated through a network of sham modeling agencies that exploited more than 6,000 victims. Many of those targeted were aspiring models and their parents, who were pressured into paying for digital portfolios that were ultimately worthless.
In February 2025, Foster was sentenced in his absence to eight-and-a-half years in prison for his lead role in the criminal enterprise, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Foster had reportedly been living in southern Spain for at least 15 years, frequently using the alias Philip Dowd to evade detection. During his acting career in the 1990s, he appeared in over 60 episodes of Brookside as Christian Wright, a character described as a manipulative villain. The scale of his real-world fraud has drawn comparisons to the antagonistic nature of his on-screen persona.
Authorities are searching for Foster’s son, Michael Foster. Michael was sentenced in absentia to three-and-a-half years for his involvement in the fraud and remains at large. The investigation into the scam revealed a sophisticated operation that used the promise of high-fashion careers to extract significant sums of money from vulnerable individuals across the country.
