Binky Felstead has been accused of more “shameless” attempts to get freebies, this time by a London-based artist.
Last week, the former Made In Chelsea star was blasted by a London baker for trying to get a free third birthday cake for her son Wilder in exchange for promotion on Instagram.
Now, illustrator Alice Peto has claimed she had a similar exchange with Felstead’s team in the run-up to her 2022 wedding to Max Darnton in Corfu.
She claimed the reality star asked for designs “free of charge” for wedding invitations, menus, table names and place names in return for “exposure” on social media.
Peto shared a screenshot of a 2021 email that read: “Thank you so much for your interest in assisting with the illustration for Binky and Max’s wedding invites.
“The wedding is in Greece and we would be looking for three invitations plus menus, table names and place names.”
It went on: “The couple would be looking for the design free of charge in exchange for exposure on their social media accounts.
“It would be brilliant to understand your style a little better so if you could share any examples of your work that would be brilliant.”
Peto was quick to shut down the request for a free cake, replying: “Thanks so much, I’ve been illustrating for 20 years and I’m one of the in-house illustrators for [redacted], so sadly I just can’t do it for free.
“What fun though, I bet you find someone brilliant. Very best, Alice.”
Peto has had her watercolour illustrations featured in House & Garden Magazine and has had commissions from Harrods and Selfridges.
Felstead’s former associate told the Mail: “Life is a dream for Binky. She loves a freebie. She literally has no shame.”
The Standard has contacted Felstead’s representative for comment.
The latest accusations come just days after Felstead came under fire for trying to get a “gifted” train cake for her son Wilder’s birthday in return for an “Instagram post collaboration”.
The 35-year-old - who shares Wilder with her husband Darnton - was called out by the luxury cake business Anges de Sucre in west London.
The bakery’s owner Reshmi Bennett, 44, has previously expressed her fury over influencers requesting free cakes from her instead of paying.
Bennett even made a fake GoFundMe page asking for donations of £1.4 million for Felstead’s train cake - a reference to the reality star’s Instagram follower count.
She initially redacted Felstead’s name in the emails with her team but ended up naming the star in a later post.
Beyond Chelsea star Felstead’s representative said: “This was a standard enquiry from Binky's PA, offering social media exposure in exchange for a birthday cake.
“Binky was not directly involved in these email exchanges, and is currently away on a family holiday. We completely understand that this type of collaboration is not for everyone and respect the decision to decline.
“It is, however, disappointing to see a private and friendly enquiry shared publicly, and contra deals like this are widely used within this industry and usually mutually beneficial.”
Bennett shared a screenshot of Felstead’s team’s form request, which read: “Yellow train cake! We would also be interested in collaborating [redacted] who has 1.4million Instagram followers.”
Bennett deliberately ignored the attempts to get the cake for free, instead asking for their budget, post code and image references.
Felstead’s team pushed back, replying: “Thanks for your message. Would you be interested in collaborating on the cake?
“As in the cake would be gifted in exchange for a story on [redacted]'s Instagram?”
Bennett replied: “I was really hoping [redacted] would have a budget for a cake. It would really go far in restoring my faith in an industry so tainted by 'grifters’.
“Influencers, in general, have a terrible reputation for not wanting to pay for their cakes. The optics are terrible as well - a 'rich' Made In Chelsea star gets a cake for free from a small family run bakery business.
“What would actually make an incredible piece of positive press, possibly going viral - if [redacted] pays full price for the cake and I post about how an influencer actually pays for their cake.”
She added: “It would get her all the positive virtual vibes and the right kind of exposure, vs being yet another 'cake blagger'.”
Felstead’s team agreed that she had made a “valid point about optics” and said they would speak to the TV personality before coming back to her on whether they would pay.
Bennett said she had not received a reply. She went on to post the exchanges on Instagram and make a spoof GoFundMe page for the cake.
Felstead shares sons Wilder and Wolfie with husband Darnton. She also has a daughter, India, with her Made In Chelsea ex, Joshua Patterson.
She is currently starring in the Made In Chelsea spin-off, Beyond Chelsea, alongside original castmates Lucy Watson and Rosie Fortescue.
