Boy branded ‘Britain’s naughtiest kid’ has grown up to earn £360,000-a-year running a personal developmental school in Thailand

A boy branded ‘Britain’s naughtiest boy’ has turned his life around and now earns £360,000 a year running a personal development school in Thailand.

Tom Roberts, 24, appeared as a troublesome 11-year-old in Channel 4’s Mr Drew’s School for Boys in 2014.

It took seven years for the existential ‘wake-up call’ Mr Roberts needed after he was convicted twice as a teenager for grievous bodily harm in 2020 and 2021.

Mr Roberts, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, said he ‘got into a lot of trouble’ as a child and found it difficult to shake the ‘naughtiest boy in England’ label.

He added: ‘I was fighting all the time and didn’t know how to control my emotions.

‘My father’s death made things worse and I was pushing everyone to their limits.

‘The program labeled me ‘the naughtiest boy in England’ and it was hard to escape that.’

After Mr Roberts was released from a two-year stint at HMP Hindley in Manchester, he consulted self-help books and sought advice from wellness coaches, including Canadian author Bob Proctor.

Naughty boy: Tom pictured with his family

His new outlook on life and the hope of helping others inspired him to move to Koh Samui, Thailand, where he founded his own personal development school called Generation 1 in December 2023.

He said: ‘After two prison sentences I realized I couldn’t continue living this way.

‘I had to make a change and found comfort in reading about healthy living and the mind.

‘He inspired me to help others and to make sure they don’t make the same mistakes I did.’

Mr Roberts’ behavior spiraled and became ‘out of control’ after his father Lou died from alcoholism at the age of 56, causing him to climb out of windows and wreak havoc in the classroom.

Her mother, Christina Sadler, 53, reached breaking point after she was expelled from school just weeks before finishing primary school, prompting her to single out her for the stunt she saw in a magazine.

Mr Roberts said the show was described as ‘a rehabilitation program documenting other naughty kids’.

He continued: ‘Behind the scenes, staff are specifically trained to help people with behavioral management problems.

His new outlook on life and the hope of helping others inspired him to move to Kok Sumai, Thailand, where he founded his own personal development school called Generation 1 in December 2023.

‘They also helped support parents. It took four weeks and I can’t say for sure that it helped shape me to be better.’

Mr. Roberts entered secondary school shortly after the demonstration and was expelled for the second time three months later; This led him to attend Archers Brook private school in Cheshire.

But despite passing all his GCSEs and studying business at university, his anger remained.

And in November 2020, Mr Roberts was jailed for 11 months and suspended for 18 months at Chester Crown Court on a charge of causing grievous bodily harm after he punched a man in the face at Tenpin in Cheshire Oaks.

He was later charged with causing grievous bodily harm after breaking a man’s jaw in a nightclub in September 2021 and sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institution.

This included 10 months for the suspended sentence breach and an additional eight months for the new assault.

Mr Roberts described his time in prison as ‘a huge amount of time to think’ and during this time he became ‘addicted’ to development and self-help books.

He added: ‘I found more peace in prison because I had structure.

‘I was eating, sleeping, training, walking and going out at the same time every day.

‘This was kind of a blessing for my ADHD mind.’

Mr Roberts’ time spent in self-reflection in prison motivated him to start his own business because he became ‘disciplined’ and ‘didn’t give up’ despite having no entrepreneurial experience.

Mr. Roberts moved to Koh Samui, Thailand, in November 2024 — more than a year after his release — and founded Generation I a month later.

The online company currently has 240 customers worldwide and is designed to help people ‘transform their lives’ and ‘rewrite their own story’ through personalized plans.

Mr Roberts described his job as ‘satisfying’, especially after being told as a child that ‘it wouldn’t amount to anything’.

He added: ‘Looking back, I agree that my behavior was appalling.

‘But I also see a child who needs help and guidance.

‘People thought I was just a little jerk. But my heart was always in the right place.

‘Your past does not define you and I am living proof that you can always turn a new page.

‘Never give up!’