George Gilbey’s last words to his colleagues before his tragic death have been revealed. The former Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother star’s death was announced on Wednesday, after he reportedly fell from a height at work in Essex.
Officers were called to Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea at around 10am, and despite efforts from the ambulance service and air ambulance to save him, George sadly died at the scene aged 40.
© Can Nguyen/ShutterstockAccording to The Sun, George had scaled the roof at the Essex warehouse without a Harness and as work colleagues told him to come down, he fell 80ft through a skylight.
Revealing George’s last words to his colleagues, one friend told the publication: “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.
© Channel 4“Then, he apparently came through a skylight so fell from the outside of the roof about 80ft on to concrete inside,” the friend said, adding that George “did not stand a chance”.
On Thursday, Essex Police arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
A spokesperson 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 inquiries are ongoing.”
George’s death comes almost three years after his stepdad Pete McGarry passed away aged 71 from bowel cancer.
At the time, George’s mum Linda told The Sun: “Pete was a lovely man and I was so lucky to have him for 25 years. I said to him, ‘We’ve not only been 25 years, it’s been day and night with each other.’ He was my life.”
She continued: “I have a message from a young lad I know who said, ‘Ordinary people won’t be remembered, but we’ll remember Pete forever – like the pyramids.’ I thought that was beautiful.”
George rose to fame after appearing alongside his mum and stepdad on Channel 4’s Gogglebox in 2013. The family left the programme after George signed up for Celebrity Big Brother. He took part in the show’s 14th series and placed fourth in the final.
While the trio returned to Gogglebox in 2016, George left the programme for good in 2018. Linda and Pete followed suit two years later.
Away from the cameras, George worked as an electrician. While he kept out of the spotlight in recent years, he often shared photos of his young daughter Amelie online. George welcomed his little girl in 2016 with his girlfriend Gemma Conway.