Former CBBC stars Iain Stirling and Kirsten O’Brien have lead tributes for their Mark Speight on the 13th anniversary of his suicide.
The Love Island narrator, 33, and the SMart star took to Twitter to pay their respects to Mark who they remembered in such a fond light.
On April 7 2008, Mark was found dead at Paddington Station after he had taken his own life.
It is believed he was overcome with grief following the death of his fiancee Natasha Collins, who had passed away in January of the same year.
(Image: BBC)
Kirsten and Mark had presented SMart together for nine years before his tragic death.
Remembering her pal, Kirsten penned: “Off to bed but just thinking about my mate Mark Speight who we lost 13 years ago today, still the funniest person I have ever had the joy of knowing.”
It seems Mark also wasn’t far away from comedian Iain Stirlings thoughts either.
(Image: BBC)
Iain, who featured on the show in 2009 with his trusty canine puppet Hacker T. Dog wrote: “Mark was one of the many reason I was so excited when I first started working at CBBC. A true legend.
Re-sharing Roman Kemp’s mental health support idea, he urged his following: “Today why not ask a friend how they are and then ask again.
“Could make all the difference. X.”
In January 2008, Mark’s girlfriend Natasha was pronounced dead after the pair had partied and taken ‘a significant amount of’ cocaine along with alcohol and sleeping tablets.
After her death, he became so consumed with guilt and grief that he handed in his notice from SMart in February.
Just two months later, his body was was discovered hanged by railway workers.
As Mark had presented on channel that was mainly adored by children, the decision to speak about his death sparked much debate among parents.
Despite worries, it was agreed that Kirsten would honour her close pal on Newsround.
After delivering the sad news of his death, Kirsten added at the time: “We are all completely devastated.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
