George Gilbey's mother 'had a little cry' after messages of support following ... trends now
George Gilbey's mother 'had a little cry' after messages of support poured in for her son following his death, as his friends reveal 'it was a complete and utter accident'.
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.
Gilbey told his colleagues that he was 'alright' after they said they were worried about the height he was working at moments before he 'fell 80ft to his death' after tumbling through a skylight.
A man who was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with his death has been released under investigation.
Friends have 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.
Geordie Shore’s Ricci Guarnaccio, 37, who was on Celebrity Big Brother with George Gilbey in 2014, told MailOnline: 'It didn’t feel real... [I was told] it was accidental at work. I think he was helping a friend out. It’s just been a complete and utter accident, there’s nothing more to it and nothing less.
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
Police confirmed that George fell and sustained an injury at around 10am on Wednesday
Family members have paid tribute to 'kind and gentle' Gogglebox star George Gilbey following his sudden death on Wednesday morning
'There’s an inquest going on at the moment, the police have got to do their thing. It just doesn’t feel real, it really f***ing doesn’t. From him messaging me last week, I’m definitely going to cherish the happy memories and the fond memories I’ve got of him.
'We spent a lot of time together after Celebrity Big Brother and he came up to Newcastle and went on a night out with me and Jay from Geordie Shore. Jay was even saying what a laugh he is.
'He got found in a pub for Gogglebox and he quickly rose to fame, jumped on that show and was a fan favourite straight way, melted the hearts of the public and jumped onto CBB with all of us.
'He’ll forever have a place in my heart. He was such a good person, he really was. Most importantly, I’m just devastated for his daughter and his mother - it’s devastating, it really is.'
Speaking about his mother Linda, Guarnaccio added: 'She unfortunately lost Pete her partner two years ago and to now have to bury her 40-year-old son - no mother should have to do that.
'You can’t even fathom the thought of the feelings and emotions she’s going through. It’s brutal.
'And most importantly, he had a seven-year-old daughter who he adored and loved and he worshipped the ground she worked on. He was a doting father. No seven-year-old should be having to what she’s going to have to do - it’s not right at all. It’s broken us.
'He’s an OG, he’s a Gogglebox OG, he’ll forever hold that place. All the messages that I’ve been getting, I was reading a few to Linda and speaking with her and we were having a laugh and we had a little bit of a cry.'
Another 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.
'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'.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
