This is the 'dead-beat dad' who walked out on I'm A Celebrity winner Angry Ginge when he was a youngster - plunging his family into poverty and leaving his mother juggling three jobs.
Truck driver Lee Smith, 57, became estranged from the influencer and his sister Tasha, 27, after he abandoned the family leaving single mother Michelle struggling to make ends meet.
But silver-haired Smith may be regretting his fecklessness now after Ginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, won the hearts of the nation to be crowned King of the Jungle.
Since making television history by becoming the first social media star to win the title, Ginge, 24, has heaped praise on Michelle for the sacrifices she made and helping launching on the road to fame and fortune.
Meanwhile the YouTuber has taken a swipe at his father on social media by showing his approval after a fan posted a clip of a crying man with the caption: 'Angry Ginge's dad watching his past self walk out on his son who'd go onto win I'm A Celeb.'
Ginge - who reportedly earned more than £1 million last year from his social media alone - has highlighted in postings the 'horrible things' his 'drunken' and 'racist' father did to him and his family when he was younger.
And he insisted if he saw him on the streets today he would 'walk past him'.
Ginge has revealed how the family were forced to endure 'constant' court battles that went on for 'months or even years' and how his father abandoned the family and started a relationship with another woman.
Ginge said Smith has 'another daughter' who he has never met.
Truck driver Lee Smith, 57, became estranged from Angry Ginge, real name Morgan Burtwistle, and his sister Tasha, 27, after he abandoned the family
AngryGinge previously took a major swipe at his estranged father for 'walking out' on him as his fans rally around him following his I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! win
Ginge made no secret of being raised by his single mum Michelle, who joined him in the Jungle during one episode of the hit show
Despite walking out, Ginge told how his father would show up at their council house in Salford the middle of the night causing chaos.
He said in one online interview: 'What I also remember as a kid, I cannot count on two hands how many times there would be the back fences kicked in because they were wooden.
'There would just be cans of Stella and smashed glass outside.
'Once he got drunk in the middle of the night because he absolutely loved the Stella.
'He just came to the house and he just picked a brick up and he threw it through the window.
'The next day he came round to try and see me. He's turned up and gone 'Oh right, What's happened here then?', knowing full well he's done it.
'I don't know if he felt guilty or anything but he offered to pay half. Why would you offer to pay half.'
Of his first memory of his father he said: 'I was just walking up and down because my mum was doing the garden. My mum said 'Morgan you're best off going inside now'. Then to my knowledge, a random man was tickling me on the wall.
'She gets me off the wall and gets me inside. I just remember I looked at my mum and said 'Is that my dad?' And she went 'Yeah'.
'I was born, loads happened between him and my mum. He's not a nice guy.'
Speaking of the 'constant court battles', Ginge told how his mother had to contact authorities to force Smith to pay maintenance to support his children.
But Ginge said: 'What my dad actually kept doing - which is why I repeatedly say he's not a good man and this is the tip of the iceberg - he used to keep moving jobs so this company couldn't keep tracking him down so he wouldn't actually pay my mum anything a month.'
At one point in his childhood his father would pay for 'clothes and trainers' with his 'truck driving money'.
Ginge would visit Smith 'on Sundays or every other Sunday' when he would end up being looked after by his new partner.
And he said of one occasion: 'I've actually been in a police van. My mum opened the door to the police and saw me getting out of the back of a police van because my dad had just been arrested.'
Smith may be regretting his fecklessness now after Ginge won the hearts of the nation to be crowned King of the Jungle
And speaking of a 'near death experience' he said: 'My dad was drink-driving in the car - probably not the safest.'
In contrast, he told how he was fortunate to have an 'amazing' mother who 'guided him the right way'.
Ginge and Michelle shared an emotional reunion after he beat off established stars including EastEnders' Shona McGarty, Martin Kemp and Lisa Riley to land the coveted title.
After his win, Ginge told how he had taken on the TV challenge to fulfil a lifelong dream.
He gave up his lucrative work for a five-week stint in Australia as it was a country his mother had always wanted to visit and he had pledged to take her there if he had the opportunity.
He said of his mother: 'I remember her saying years ago one of her main aims was that she wanted to go to Australia and I managed to get her a free holiday there.
'I didn't do it for publicity. I just did it because I've got an opportunity here to live an eight-year-old Morgan's dream and to make my mum proud.'
Opening up about what the win meant for him personally, he said: 'I wanted my mum to know how well she did raising us and how much I do appreciate everything that she did from literally.
'From being a single parent, since I was probably one year old and then on and off and then throughout my whole life basically working all of the jobs that she had just to know that.
'Anything I can do would make her proud. It's just the best.'
The content creator and his mum Michelle delighted TV audiences when she and his sister, Tasha, surprised him in the Jungle
Single mother Michelle worked multiple jobs including in a school kitchen, as a cleaner and in a care home to bring in £12,500 a year to support her two children.
Michelle said of their life: 'We lived in a rough area for gangs, it could have easily gone that way for him. But we kept him busy with the after-school clubs - cubs, football, theatre, rugby and he loved them all.'
'He did cheerleading as well. They actually won a competition out of all the schools in the area.'
She said of her son: 'He saw me struggling as a single parent growing up.
'And now he thinks it's his time to make it up to me. He always says to me, 'If there's anything you need or anything you want, just ask me'.
'He doesn't do it because he has to, it's because he wants to and appreciates all I have done for him.'
AngryGinge grew to prominence on the live streaming platform, Twitch, where his five million followers watch him shout expletives at a video or football game for more than 10 hours a day from his bedroom.
He earns £1million a year on what is known as 'the Gogglebox of the internet' but is set to make far more after his jungle stint with ITV bosses, and other major broadcasters, eyeing him up as the future of television.
AngryGinge filmed his first stream of FIFA gameplay in October 2020.
His success wasn't overnight, with the star recalling he managed a peak of just 40 viewers with his first stream, which netted him £12.44.
After a few months he decided to take a break from Twitch but following the death of his grandfather from Covid in 2021 he returned to streaming full time - uploading content Monday to Friday to make a name for himself.
His persistence paid off, and after expanding to other social media sites, he soon began to make thousands all from the comfort of his bedroom.
In just the past year alone, AngryGinge is predicted to have made between £804,000 and £1.1million from social media.
Morgan has said of his success: 'I think it's gone down well because people can relate that I've come from the same place they've come from.
'I've come from a council estate and I know what they go through and have been through and can bond with them and get to know them more on a personal level.'
His bio simply reads: 'I'm ginger. I have a joke and a laugh, don't be offended!'.
When he started out Ginge moved to a rented £350 's***hole' with 'no shower and peeling wallpaper'.
He began saving for his own home but has told how he never imagined how his career would take off.
Morgan - who now counts his idol Wayne Rooney as a friend - still lives in Manchester but last year was able to buy a property.
For Christmas in 2023, Ginge surprised his mother with a briefcase filled with £10,000 which he won from doing a YouTube video series where online creators compete in football-based challenges.
He told fans at the time: 'I won it and I've kept the prize money to give to mum on Christmas.
'As you know I don't have a dad so I don't have to get anything for his side of the family, which is a blessing in disguise.
'It means I don't get the double Christmas anymore, but it also means I don't have to buy them anything so it's a win-win in my eyes.'
During their stay in Australia Michelle and Tasha enjoyed their time at the five-star Marriott hotel in Queensland - 'going for meals, having a drink and a laugh with Shirlie Kemp', Martin's wife, from the eighties pop band, Pepsi & Shirlie.
After being reunited with her son she said: 'I've missed him so much. We were hugging each other and crying, it's the longest we've been without speaking.'
Today Michelle lives in a quiet cul-de-sac in Manchester, 40 minutes away from her son whom she sees twice a week after he was able to buy his own house last year from his success as a content creator.
They've been living apart for almost seven years, after Morgan left home at 17 to live with his grandmother in a bid to relieve the financial burden on Michelle, who was struggling to pay the mortgage on their ex-council estate house in Eccles.
Without a father figure in his life, Ginge credits his grandfather, Michelle's dad with keeping him on an even keel.
Michelle said: 'When his grandad died in February 2021, something told Morgan to just try streaming again to get these viewers up.
'That's exactly what he did and he always says, 'It was his grandad's prophecy.'
She told how the family now plan to spend a 'quiet' Christmas together and digest the 'utter madness' that has just occurred.
Smiling at the prospect, she said: 'We'll probably be at Morgan's because he's got a new house now.'
The Daily Mail has approached Mr Lee Smith for comment.
