George Gilbey death: Mum Linda McGarry reveals Gogglebox's star last words hours before he fell from roof

The heartbroken mum of former Gogglebox star George Gilbey who fell to his death in March, has spoken of her anguish as she comes to terms with her loss. Speaking for the first time during an interview with The Sun, Linda McGarry, who appeared on the Channel 4 show with George, said the dad-of-one rang her before the tragedy struck.

It was revealed at an inquest that the 40-year-old fell 80ft to his death from a warehouse roof he was working on in Shoeburyness, Essex on March 27 where he sustained traumatic injuries to his head an torso. Coroner’s officer Deborah Frost said Gilbey had been “working on a roof when he fell through a plastic skylight, landing on the ground below”.

According to Linda, 74, George died trying to earn cash so he could move closer to his seven-year-old daughter Amelie, and he rang her hours before his death. She said: “He was happy. He ended the call with ‘I love you’. I treasure those words.”. She added: “It was an honour for him to have been my son. We had a blast for 40 years.”

Linda also recounted how her son, despite facing financial struggles and his own inner battles, always fussed over her after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She said George had stayed with a relative the night before but called her on the fateful day.

She said: “He phoned me at 9.30 on the morning and said he was working — and asked me for his ‘breakfast money’. “I put £30 in his account so he could get food, and he seemed fine.

“He had a drink the night before, and liked a bottle of white wine or two, but was happy that he was working. He ended the phone call by saying, ‘I love you’ like he usually did. I treasure those words.”

George, who earned £100,000 from Celebrity Big Brother in 2014, had recently lived with Linda in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Despite only receiving a carer’s allowance of approximately £190 per month due to Linda’s illness, he was diligently working to relocate closer to his beloved daughter, Amelie, who lived with her mother, Gemma Conway, in South West London.

Linda explained, "George was trying to get money together to get a room. He was going to rent from his friend, Skippy, near to Amelie in Twickenham." She said they were on good terms and George always looked forward to being involved in Amelie's daily life, even planning to pick her up from school.

Linda also reminisced about their happy times together, revealing that they were in the midst of a month-long job when the tragedy struck. "When they were together, George and Amelie were always laughing. She is going to miss him terribly, like we all will."

George was working on repairs at EGL Homecare’s warehouse in Shoebury, Essex, when he died. An initial inquest was opened and suspended. Following the incident, a man in his forties was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and later released under investigation.

Linda, who rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, described the harrowing moment: “ “When I got that call, it was horrendous. It did not feel real and we raced to the site, thinking that he was still alive. They stopped us going in and sent us to a hospital. The police met us at Southend Hospital, and told us he hadn’t made it. I kept thinking it was not real, and still feel like it is not.”

Expressing her concerns, Linda suggested that George, who began roofing work at 15, might have died due to inadequate safety measures: “He was up there fixing the roof. Apparently he stepped on a weak bit of roof and there was no netting. I don’t think it was safe. I think it was instant, and hope it was so he didn’t suffer.”

Gilbey rose to fame on the second series of Gogglebox with his mother Linda McGarry and step-father in 2013. His death comes less than three years after Pete died from bowel cancer aged 71. The family left the series in 2014 when George entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on rival Channel 5, breaching production rules.

Five years after appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, George was jailed for three years for drink driving. He admitted to the offence at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and was jailed due to serving a community punishment following a drunken bust up with his ex-girlfriend Gemma the year prior.

His parents rejoined the show two years later. George, who had a seven-year-old daughter Amelie Iris Gilbey with Gemma Conway in 2016, was part of the 14th series of Celebrity Big Brother and even reached the final.

Coroner Mr Brookes said he had received a written request from Essex Police to suspend inquest proceedings pending the outcome of a criminal investigation, and he granted this request. He said the matter would be reviewed in four months’ time.

Speaking of his funeral, Linda said his son received a ‘fantastic’ send-off, with 400-500 people turned up. She said: “Gemma gave a lovely speech at the funeral and made promises to Amelie on his behalf. And George deeply regretted drink-driving.”

She added: “The funeral was fantastic — I have never seen anything like it. There were 400-500 people there. We had told Amelie we were having a party to celebrate George’s life, and that’s what it was. My George will never be forgotten. Everyone had a story about him, and he was a one in a million. I’m so lucky to have had him.”