Caroline Flack’s former roommate remembers how the beloved star filled her life with joy – as her laughter echoed around their student house.
Bernadette Battom recalls Caroline taking her first steps into showbusiness at 16, when they went to theatre school.
And she’s never forgotten the chuckles of her old friend, who took her own life just over a week ago.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mirror, Bernadette, 42, says: “She was so full of happiness, energy and drive.
“She was a bundle of confidence and always got picked for everything. We were working so hard we were coming home exhausted, so we didn’t go out loads or party.
Caroline and Keith Lemon at the early stages of her career (Image: Instagram)
“Caroline knew where she wanted to go and she was focused on that. She wasn’t the tidiest housemate but she was very popular.
“People were drawn to her.”
Married mother-of-three Bernadette was stunned by the news of Caroline’s death.
“If you told me back then that this was going to happen, I would never have believed it.
“It’s so upsetting.”
The pair trained in acting, singing and dancing at Bodywork Company theatre school, sharing a house in Cambridge with three other aspiring performers in 1996. Our previously unpublished picture shows Caroline as a fresh-faced hopeful, smiling with her pals.
“We were all between 16 and 19 and we couldn’t believe we could live in this amazing place,” says Bernadette.
Caroline and Keith (Image: Instagram)
Despite being one of the youngest in class, Caroline’s talent stood out from the moment she performed Don’t Rain on My Parade, from the musical Funny Girl.
Bernadette adds: “That is a difficult song. But I was blown away. For her, performing was effortless. We called her The Baby as she was so petite, so delicate.”
They lost touch after graduating in 1999. Three years later Caroline got her break in comedy Bo’ Selecta!, going on to host shows such as I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. NOW! But Bernadette was unaware of her pal’s success until 2011, when Caroline was hosting The Xtra Factor on ITV2.
Caroline and Keith (Image: Instagram)
Now a Tesco worker and teaching assistant, Bernadette says: “I went, ‘hang on, I know her!’ You couldn’t resent her success because that was what she always wanted. I was pleased she made it.”
The former Love Island host was found dead at her flat in Stoke Newington, London, on February 15. An inquest was opened at Poplar
Coroner’s Court on Wednesday. She had been awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27 – which she denied.
Caroline and Keith (Image: Instagram)
Caroline’s family this week shared an unpublished Instagram post in which the presenter said “my whole world and future was swept from under my feet” following her arrest.
The Metropolitan Police this week referred itself to the police watchdog.
Bernadette, of Balsham, Cambs, is still coming to terms with her death.
She said: “I was watching the coverage in the staff canteen just completely shocked.
“It’s so upsetting that she felt she had no other option but to end it all.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
