We've just heard the sad news that a body, believed to be that of children's TV presenter Mark Speight, has been found at London's Paddington station. A British Transport Police spokeman said:
“At 10am we were advised that the body of a male person was discovered at Paddington rail station. Officers are investigating the identity and circumstances surrounding the death which is being treated as unexplained.”
The 42 year old was best known for presenting popular children's art show smART, but had most recently been in the news due to the drug-related death of his fiancee Natasha Collins. He was last seen on Monday afternoon boarding a southbound Bakerloo Line train heading towards the centre of London, before going missing, and his father Oliver appealed this week for him to get in touch.
UPDATE: Jan Kennedy, speaking on behalf of Mark's agent, said the discovery of the body at Paddington had left the company "absolutely devastated". She went on to say:
"Caring and compassionate in everything he did, Mark was truly gifted in life and we are proud to have represented him as a friend and client for almost 20 years. He was blessed with a remarkable personality, great artistic talents and the wonderful warm ability to communicate those skills with people, especially children of all ages. With his sensitivity of spirit, coupled with his dynamic presence and natural enthusiasm, he was loved and respected by his adoring family, friends and colleagues everywhere in the media."
UPDATE: British Transport Police have said the body, believed to be that of Mark Speight, was found hanging on the roof of MacMillan House, adjacent to Paddington station. The body was out of public view.
UPDATE: An inquest into Mark's death has heard that the children's TV presenter left two suicide notes.
Our thoughts are with both Mark and Natasha's families.
Vincent Longo
Tibi
Buffalo London
Oh, that's awful. He was one of my favourite CBBC presenters growing up. My heart goes out to his family and friends.
1Aww Just heard bout it on the radio so sad :C R.I.P Mark and Natasha
2So sad
3So sad
4This story has really haunted me. The circumstances of Natasha's death were horrible and this is a second sad ending to a young life. My heart goes out to his family and Natasha's family - grief is hard enough in private so you can't imagine how hard it must be when your loved one's face is splashed all over the tabloids.
5This is so so sad. My thoughts are with his friends and family.
6that's such a shame, he always seemed really sweet, i watched him when i was little, bless his family and friends thats so awful for them.
7This is such sad news. Prayers to the family of course.
8That's Terrible News
9I can't say I've ever heard of Mark or Natasha before - but I don't have any reason to keep tabs on kid's TV. Still, I feel sad reading about it just because he was obviously a person who was hurting a great deal, and it doesn't matter if you're famous or not, that's something very sad to hear about. I also feel quite badly for his young fans, who are going to learn about loss probably earlier than most of us would wish they have to. I know he's a celebrity and not a friend or family member, but its still hard, you know? Especially when you're young and maybe the difference between a "TV friend" and a real friend aren't always as clear.
10Post A Comment
To post comments, please log in or register.