Gogglebox star George Gilbey fell 80ft to his death 'after tumbling through ... trends now
Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother star George Gilbey fell 80ft to his death after tumbling through a skylight while working on a warehouse roof without a harness, friends tragically revealed last night.
George, once a favourite on the Gogglebox sofa with his mother Linda McGarry and stepfather Pete, died after falling from the roof of EGL Homecare in Shoebury, near Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on Wednesday.
Essex Police revealed on Thursday that a man - understood to be a colleague - has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Police confirmed that George fell and sustained an injury at around 10am on Wednesday. Despite ambulance crews and air ambulances rushing to the scene, the Gogglebox star did not survive.
Friends have now revealed that George scaled the roof of the building without a harness and as his workmates begged him to come down, he fell 80ft through a skylight and landed on the concrete.
One friend told The Sun: 'George had not been in a good way and maybe should not have been working at all. He was up on the roof and the others were shouting at him to get down and to be careful.
Gilbey became a household name on Gogglebox alongside mother Linda and stepfather Pete
A police cordon in place at EGL Homecare on Wednesday, where the tragedy is understood to have unfolded
Family members have paid tribute to 'kind and gentle' Gogglebox star George Gilbey following his sudden death on Wednesday morning
'He was shouting back that he was all right, even though he was not very steady on his feet.
'Then, he apparently came through a skylight so fell from the outside of the roof about 80ft on to concrete inside.' The pal added that George 'did not stand a chance'.
The newspaper also reports that George was due to appear in court next month for allegedly assaulting an ex partner.
He has a previous conviction for attacking another ex-girlfriend, Gemma Conway, who is the mother of his daughter Amelie. George was also jailed for drink driving in 2019.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: 'As part of our ongoing investigation into the death of a man in Campfield Road, Shoebury on Wednesday 27 March, we have arrested a man in their 40s from the Witham area on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
'This is a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and our enquiries are ongoing.'
George was an electrician with more than ten years experience, according to his Linkedin entry, and he had ambitions to work in the off-shore wind turbine sector.
His sudden death comes less than three years after his step-father Pete McGarry died from bowel cancer aged 71.
The family left Gogglebox in 2014 when George entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on rival Channel 5 - which was deemed a rule breaker by producers - but they delighted viewers when they returned to the sofa two years later.
This was the last photo that George Gilbey posted of himself on social media - he said he had just bought a gym membership
The former reality TV star rose to fame on Gogglebox with his mother Linda and step-father Pete (pictured together in 2015)
The Gilbey family left Gogglebox in 2014 when George (pictured) entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on rival Channel 5
George, who had a daughter called Amelie with Gemma Conway in 2016, was part of the fourteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother and even reached the final.
Gilbey's heartbroken relative Sabrina Browning has since shared a tributes to her older brother with Instagram followers.
'My heart is in absolute pieces,' she wrote on Thursday. 'You will be missed so much, no words can explain the kind and gentle heart you showed to all you loved and cared for, thank you for everything, rest in eternal paradise brother.'
Browning also shared a series of photos, among them an image of Gilbey holding one of the two TV BAFTA Awards won by Gogglebox after being named Best Reality and Constructed Factual show in 2014 and 2022.
Just four days ago, George had posted a beaming selfie on Facebook in which he shared that he had purchased a gym membership. He captioned the photo of him sweating alongside another picture of a gym card: 'Done. Full membership.'
Channel 4 led the tributes on Wednesday, describing George as 'part of the Gogglebox family'.
Meanwhile fellow TV personality Ricci Guarnaccio, who entered the Big Brother house the same year, wrote: 'Breaks my heart but George Gilbey you are well and truly going to be missed my friend.
'Always lit up the room, cared for others & the memories we made I'll cherish for ever brother. From CBB to speaking to you last week, I'm going to hugely miss you ma boiii! Love you GG.'
Mr Guarnaccio, who also starred on Geordie Shore, said that George's death came as a result of an 'accident at work'.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: 'We received a report of an incident at Campfield Road in Shoebury at around 10am this morning (27 March), during which a man who was working at height had fallen and sustained an injury.
'The ambulance service including air ambulance were in attendance. Sadly, the man died at the scene.
'We will continue liaising with partners including the Heath and Safety Executive. A cordon remains in place at the scene.'
Heartbroken friends have claimed that after a troubled few years, the star had been working hard to
