The stars of Gogglebox have paid tribute following the tragic passing of former star George Gilbey, who died aged 40 after suffering a fall at work.
George, who appeared in eight seasons of the Channel 4 show and the 2014 series of Celebrity Big Brother, had been working at height and fell, Essex Police confirmed.
Taking to social media, the official Gogglebox account wrote: "George was part of the Gogglebox family for eight series alongside his mum Linda and step-dad Pete.
© Tim P. Whitby"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Linda, and George’s family and friends at this very sad time."
Essex Police have arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to George's death.
"This is a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and our inquiries are ongoing," a spokesperson said.
Past and present cast members of the show took to the comments section to share their condolences to George's family.
Baasit Siddiqui penned: "Such sad and shocking news. All our love thoughts and prayers to George’s family and friends during this really hard time for them all," while Simon Minty wrote: "So sorry to hear this. I really enjoyed watching George. Condolences to Linda and family."
© Channel 4Stephen Webb, who left the show in September along with his husband Daniel Lustig-Webb, also paid tribute. "Very sad, sending our love to Linda and family," he wrote.
Vivien Woerdenweber, who previously appeared on the show alongside her husband Ralf and daughter Eve, penned: "So sorry to hear this. Such a lovely family who gave many magical moments on C4 Gogglebox. Our deepest condolences to George's family who must be devastated. Such a sad loss. RIP George."
Tributes also poured in from television personalities, including Geordie Shore star Ricci Guarnaccio, who appeared in Celebrity Big Brother alongside George. Taking to X, he penned: "You are well and truly going to be missed my friend.
"Always lit up the room, cared for others and the memories we made I’ll cherish forever brother."
EastEnders actress Daniella Westbrook took to Instagram with a photo of George. She penned in the caption: "Goodnight, my darling friend George. I'm absolutely gutted."
© Can Nguyen/ShutterstockGeorge's death comes almost three years after the passing of his stepfather Peter McGarry, who died aged 71 from bowel cancer in 2021.
At the time, Linda paid tribute to her husband. "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 told The Sun.
"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's family life and career
George was a television personality who made his small-screen debut on Gogglebox back in 2013 alongside his mum, Linda and stepdad Pete.
The family left the programme in 2014 when George signed up for Celebrity Big Brother, on which he reached the final and came in fourth place.
While the trio returned to Gogglebox in 2016, George left the show for good two years later.
Away from his TV career, George worked as an electrician in Shoebury, Southend-on-Sea. In 2016, he welcomed a baby girl named Amelie with his girlfriend Gemma Conway.
