Heartbreak of MasterChef star, 21, whose older sister died with 'no warning' trends now
A MasterChef star battling for the title this year has also been fighting the devastating loss of her 'beautiful' sister just over 18 months ago, MailOnline can reveal today.
Abigail Kempley, 21, began to cook properly at home in Harrogate during lockdown and is now on the verge of making knockout week on series 20 of the BBC show.
Abi has wowed judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with the quality of her food and presentation as well as her Asian fusion cooking.
But Miss Kempley, who works in sales for her family’s food business in Leeds, has also been left heartbroken by the death of her older sister less than two years ago.
Ellie Kempley was a kind and loving nursery teacher who was 'passionate' about children but passed away suddenly and with no warning in September 2022 after being found unresponsive in her room at home by her brother James.
Ellie died aged just 23 from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), a condition when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest.
Abigail Kempley, 21, is making waves on series 20 of the BBC show MasterChef
But Abi (left) and her family were devastated by the sudden death of sister Ellie (right), aged 23, in 2022. She was described as a kind and passionate woman who wanted to be a nursery teacher
The sisters together as children in an image shared on a fundraising page for Ellie to cover the costs of future nursery school students, in her memory
Her brother had a 'funny feeling' so went to check on her one Friday night and found her unconscious and unresponsive. She could not be saved.
Ellie had no symptoms or warning signs whatsoever at the time of her death, according to her family.
Her parents and siblings set up the The Ellie Kempley Scholarship last year to fund a student to complete a teacher training diploma at the Maria Montessori Institute, and complete 'the course that Ellie was unable to finish'.
Brother Ben ran the Yorkshire Marathon last year, raising £26,000 in the process. A team of 31 people completed the event to raise funds in Ellie's memory.
They were even cheered on by fellow Harrogate resident and England football manager Gareth Southgate, who sent them a message of good luck on Facebook.
Abi has said it was her mother who encouraged her to apply for the show
Ellie's
