Michael Barrymore
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Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English comedian, influencer and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. These included '' Strike It Lucky'', '' My Kind of People'', '' My Kind of Music,'' '' Kids Say the Funniest Things'', and his own variety show, '' Barrymore''. In 1993, he headlined the '' Royal Variety Performance''. At his peak, Barrymore was voted the UK's favourite television star several times, and he became one of the highest-paid stars on television from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Barrymore subsequently appeared on '' Celebrity Big Brother'' and other shows including '' The Friday Night Project'', '' Graham Norton's Bigger Picture'', '' This Morning'', '' The Sharon Osbourne Show'' and '' The Saturday Night Show''. He starred in '' Bob Martin'' from 2000 to 2001, a comedy drama in which he played the title role of a failing television game-show host. Barrymore's television career effectively ended after the death of Stuart Lubbock in 2001 following a party at Barrymore's house in
Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...
. Barrymore was the subject of police investigations and legal action around the case over several years.


Early life

Born Michael Ciaran Parker in
Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
, on Sunday, 4 May 1952, he lived on the Dickens estate for the first 18 years of his life with his two elder siblings. His father left when Barrymore was 11 and they never saw each other again. Barrymore and his siblings were raised in the Roman Catholic faith of their Irish mother, Margaret.''The House That Made Me'',
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, 16 December 2010.


Career


Early career

Barrymore spent his early career working as a Redcoat at
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...
holiday camps and then in the West End theatre shows of London, where he met dancer Cheryl Cocklin in 1974. They married in 1976. With Cheryl as manager and the mastermind behind Barrymore's rise to fame, he first won a 1979 edition of '' New Faces'', became a regular panellist on '' Blankety Blank'' and then the warm-up man for Larry Grayson on the '' Generation Game'' and also for
Little and Large ''Little and Large'' were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020). Comedy duo They formed their pa ...
theatre shows. In the early days, Barrymore used to do impressions of
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
and Norman Wisdom, among others.


Television career (1976–2002)

Barrymore rose to fame via appearances on '' Blankety Blank'' and '' Who Do You Do?'' and his television career began firstly by having his own sketch show entitled ''The Michael Barrymore Show'' in 1983, which starred a young Nicholas Lyndhurst, and he also appeared in ''Russ Abbot's Madhouse'' as various characters in 1981 and 1982. He walked out of his contract with LWT, who produced ''The Michael Barrymore Show'', after only one series; he then landed the presenter's role on the BBC game show ''Get Set, Go!''. He appeared in a number of '' Royal Variety Performance'' shows, his first being in 1983. He became the host of ITV gameshow '' Strike It Lucky'' (which later became ''Strike It Rich'') in 1986 and it grew in popularity over the years, watched by 18 million viewers at its peak. This was Barrymore's first successful presenting role (''Get Set Go!'' had been cancelled after only one single series), which led then to his own light entertainment show, '' Barrymore'' in 1991. However, before that he had his own show between 1988 and 1989, produced for the BBC entitled ''Michael Barrymore's Saturday Night Out''; it was set in Jersey and the theme tune, "Doin' the Crab" had been released as a single in 1987. In 1991, Barrymore was given his own show entitled ''Barrymore'' where he interviewed guests, performed his comedy routines and joined in with other performers on the show. The show lasted throughout the 1990s right up to 2000, and was consistently nominated for awards over the years in the UK. Among the many famous guests that appeared on ''Barrymore'' were
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
, Uri Geller, and
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
. Following his appearance on the 1993 ''Royal Variety Performance'', where he performed a version of " Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" with soldiers, he became popular on television and on the stage. The Royal Variety Show performance brought the house down and cemented Barrymore's place at the heart of the British public. Barrymore became well known through his catchphrases of "Awight!", on making his entrance, and on '' Strike It Lucky'', "Top, middle or bottom?" and "What is a hot spot not?", to which the studio audience would reply "a good spot". Following on from the success, Barrymore had a very public battle with substance abuse. He went into rehab due to his alcohol and drug addiction in 1994. He left after a couple of months and went on to write a best-selling book about his experiences, including rehab, and he also went on a stage tour called ''Back in Business'' in 1994. He then regained his former status and made another series of ''Barrymore'' and recorded a new series called ''My Kind of People''. He came out as gay on 19 August 1995 and split from his wife in 1996. He made a new series of ''Strike It Lucky'', now called ''Strike It Rich'' and another ''Barrymore'' series. More editions of ''Strike It Rich'' and ''Barrymore'' were shown in 1997 and he also appeared in '' Spice World'' as Mr. Step. A spin-off talent show, '' My Kind of People'' and game show '' My Kind of Music'' followed the success of both ''Barrymore'' and ''Strike It Rich''. Following a dip in ratings, ''Barrymore'' was cancelled in 1997 (it later returned in 2000). He went on to new projects with '' Kids Say the Funniest Things'', ''Animals Do the Funniest Things'' and ''Barrymore on Broadway''. He was voted the UK's favourite TV star several times, and became one of the highest-paid stars on TV. Barrymore won the National Television Award for Most Popular Entertainment Presenter five out of the first six years, last at the 6th NTAs in 2000. This makes him the last winner of that award before Ant and Dec, who since the 7th NTAs in 2001 have been named Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (or, since 2016, Most Popular TV Presenter) every year the awards were held, 19 in all as of January 2020. He recorded two new series called ''My Kind of Music'' and ''Kids Say the Funniest Things'' in 1998 along with more ''Strike It Rich''. Newer editions of all three series were shown and another series of ''Barrymore'' was recorded and shown in 2000. The year 2000 also saw Barrymore move into acting in '' Bob Martin'' where he played the character of Bob Martin; he recorded two series of the comedy (2000–01). Barrymore also presented a second series of ''Kids Say the Funniest Things'' which aired in late 2000 and also a fourth series of ''My Kind of Music'' which was on the air at the time that Stuart Lubbock died in Barrymore's pool on 31 March 2001. Following Lubbock's death, both ''Bob Martin'' and ''My Kind of Music'' stayed on the air while the investigation was ongoing, but he did not record any further programmes for ITV. They constantly backed him when asked by the newspapers and simply waited for investigations to conclude. In October 2001, Barrymore was given a drugs caution and began recording a new series of ''My Kind of Music''.


Death of Stuart Lubbock


Party

Following a party at Barrymore's house in Essex in the early hours of 31 March 2001, a 31-year-old man, Stuart Lubbock, was discovered unconscious in Barrymore's swimming pool. Three witnesses – including Barrymore – claimed to have found him motionless in the pool. Witnesses disagreed on whether Lubbock was found floating on top of the pool or at the bottom. Barrymore had said he was on top of the pool. Lubbock, described as a "bubbly partygoer", had traces of drugs and alcohol in his system. In the postmortem, pathologists discovered severe anal injuries, which several experts, including senior Home Office pathologist Nathaniel Cary, later agreed were consistent with a
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
.Leveson, Brian
"Appeal: Parker v CC Essex Police"
"
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
", 11 November 2018
Many tabloid newspapers accused Barrymore of holding drug-fuelled orgies in his home and asserted he had some responsibility for the death. Kylie Merritt, a partygoer, had claimed that Barrymore had been seen at the party rubbing cocaine onto Lubbock's gums, an allegation Barrymore denied.


Arrest and inquest

Barrymore received a police caution for possession and use of
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. Barrymore and two other people at the party, Justin Merritt and Jonathan Kenney, were arrested on suspicion of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
on 6 June 2001. No other charges were laid against him or anyone else in connection with the death. The
inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
that took place in September 2002 reached an open verdict. In light of the verdict, Cheryl Barrymore was approached by a friend of the Lubbock family. She provided the family's solicitor with both an
affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...
and subsequent court testimony that her ex-husband had lied under oath, and could in fact swim; she also alleged he had rubbed
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
onto the gums of other people as well as his own. In November 2002, Barrymore's lawyers successfully demanded that
Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harring ...
re-investigate matters surrounding Lubbock's death. Their focus was on Barrymore's allegations that the injuries inflicted upon Lubbock's body could have occurred while it was lying unguarded in the mortuary. A pathologist's report found that Lubbock's wounds were only four hours old at the time of the examination at 4 pm, while Lubbock had been pronounced dead at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in
Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...
at 8.20 am that morning. Barrymore told
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
: "We want to prove the fact that the anal injuries could not have happened at the house." He added: "If these injuries had happened then, why have the police not charged anyone with anything?" An investigation into these claims by Essex Police in 2003 found "no evidence" to support them, instead concluding there was "strong evidence" the injuries were sustained before the arrival of paramedics.


Private prosecution

On Barrymore's high-profile return to the UK in January 2006 to take part in '' Celebrity Big Brother'', former solicitor, politician and local activist Anthony Bennett initiated a private prosecution, comprising six charges regarding Barrymore's alleged misuse of drugs on the night of Stuart Lubbock's death. The action commenced in Epping Magistrates' Court in January 2006 and, on 10 February 2006, a District Judge at Southend Magistrates' Court blocked the private prosecution against Barrymore on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Bennett was no longer a solicitor and was acting independently of Terry Lubbock, Stuart's father.


Reopened investigation

In an interview with
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
in the December 2006 edition of '' GQ'', Barrymore stated there were other witnesses to the events who were hiding information. On 2 December 2006, police announced they would reopen the investigation into Lubbock's death after receiving a lengthy dossier submitted by Bennett, now Terry Lubbock's solicitor. The dossier described a series of alleged failures by Essex Police in the original investigation, and claimed an elaborate coverup of the true circumstances of Lubbock's death had taken place.


Complaints processes

On 22 December 2006, following a successful complaint to the
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Ind ...
by Bennett, ''
The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'' published a letter from Terry Lubbock replying to the newspaper's five-page feature on Barrymore earlier in the year which featured Terry's meeting with Barrymore. On 1 March 2007, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), following a complaint lodged the previous December by Terry Lubbock, announced an investigation into aspects of the police inquiry into Lubbock's death after receiving complaints from the Lubbock family. It was reported that complaints surrounded information Essex Police gave to a coroner and pathologist after Lubbock's death. In May the IPCC agreed with Terry Lubbock a schedule of 36 separate complaints relating to the original investigation into Lubbock's death.


Further arrests

On 14 June 2007, Essex Police arrested Barrymore and two other men on suspicion of murder and
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
in the Lubbock case. The two other men arrested were Jonathan Kenney, Barrymore's partner at the time of the death, and Justin Merritt, an unemployed former dustman at the time, all present at the party when Lubbock died. The three men were held for questioning at South Woodham Ferrers police station. This followed reports in ''The Harlow Herald'' that police had seized tapes from the home of Barrymore's literary agent, Tony Cowell, allegedly containing conversations between Cowell and Barrymore. On 15 June 2007, police were given permission to question Barrymore and one other man for a further 12 hours. Barrymore's solicitor Henri Brandman confirmed his client was one of the men arrested. Later that day Barrymore was released on police bail pending further enquiries. His solicitor stated that Barrymore "categorically denied" the allegations made and had not been charged with any offence.


Investigation dropped

On 31 July 2007, it was announced that Barrymore had been re-bailed to appear at an Essex Police station on 10 September. He answered bail on 10 September at
Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...
police station. Police were then granted a further 12 hours to question him. On that date, Barrymore and the other two men were told that they would not face charges for the events that occurred. The case was left open. In July 2008 Lubbock's father published the book ''Not Awight: Getting Away With Murder'', co-authored with Bennett, explaining their theory that Stuart had died as a result of a violent attack on him, which Barrymore and his associates that night covered up.


Civil action

In July 2015, Barrymore sued Essex Police for wrongful arrest, valuing his claim for
damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...
at more than £2.4million. Essex Police subsequently acknowledged that Barrymore had been wrongfully arrested, although this was due to administrative errors and not to a lack of evidence. In August 2017, the High Court in London ruled that Barrymore would be entitled to "more than nominal" damages against Essex Police. This decision was overturned in 2019 by the Court of Appeal which ruled that he would be entitled only to "nominal" damages. Essex Police subsequently announced that Barrymore had dropped his compensation claim and that no payments had been made to him.


Renewed appeal

On 4 February 2020, Essex Police offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. The cash reward, funded by Essex Police and the charity Crimestoppers, was in response to a new
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
documentary on the incident, '' Barrymore: The Body in the Pool'', that aired on 6 February 2020. On 17 March 2021, nearly 20 years after Lubbock's death, Essex Police confirmed that they had arrested a 50-year-old man from
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
in connection with the indecent assault and murder of Stuart Lubbock, as a result of the appeal. He was later released without charge.


Career revivals

Following the revelation of Lubbock's death, ITV terminated Barrymore's contract and his television career collapsed. A new series of ''Kids Say the Funniest Things'' recorded prior to the scandal was pulled from the ITV schedule and never broadcast. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
cancelled publication of Barrymore's life story. In September 2003, Barrymore staged a one-man show at London's Wyndham's Theatre, which closed after a few days. He subsequently emigrated to New Zealand to live with his partner, Shaun Davis. He has since had live stage shows in New Zealand and Australia. In 2005, he appeared in ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' in Napier, New Zealand.


''Celebrity Big Brother''

In December 2005, it was announced that Barrymore was being paid £150,000 by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
to take part in '' Celebrity Big Brother'' commencing 5 January 2006. He had a difficult relationship with housemate George Galloway, which culminated in a 20-minute heated argument between the two men. On 27 January 2006, he finished runner-up to Chantelle Houghton.


After ''Celebrity Big Brother''

Remaining in the UK, Barrymore was booked to be the guest host on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's '' The Friday Night Project'' for the edition broadcast on 3 February 2006. This is the last time that Barrymore appeared on a show as the presenter. The months following Barrymore's appearance on ''Big Brother'' were full of speculation that Barrymore was in talks with a number of television channels over the possibility of new shows, but nothing ever came of this. Barrymore's appearance on the ''Friday Night Project'' is the last time he presented a primetime television show. It was announced that for Christmas 2006, Barrymore would play the title role in Bill Kenwright's production of '' Scrooge – The Musical''. He performed the lead role at the Empire Theatre,
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, but the production's scheduled transfer to the West End was cancelled. In January 2008, Barrymore took the role of comedian and writer
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
in the stage play ''Surviving Spike''. It played Windsor and later the Edinburgh Fringe, but again, its West End transfer was cancelled. In February 2010, he appeared on Irish television on '' The Saturday Night Show'', where he unexpectedly performed numerous bizarre and controversial antics, including pretending to be Jedward's father. In May 2010, Barrymore startled his co-contestants on a reality TV show by revealing that he had fallen in love with a woman. Barrymore was filming an episode of Channel 4 show '' Come Dine with Me'', with former '' Generation Game'' host Anthea Redfern and presenters Pat Sharp and
Jenny Powell Jenny Powell (born 8 April 1968) is an English radio and television presenter. After appearing on '' No Limits'', she went on to present series such as '' Wheel of Fortune'', '' UP2U'', '' Gimme 5'', '' Live Talk'', '' Wordplay'' and '' Daybre ...
, when he said he was going to have a party to celebrate that he was "coming back in". Barrymore's personal publicity, particularly in the tabloid press, continued to be negative. In December 2011, he was convicted of cocaine possession and fined £780. His only work in 2012 was on local radio stations, and on hospital radio. One was on Minster FM, on Greg Scott's breakfast show on 25 February 2012, where he was surprised to meet one of his all-time favourite television guests, Fiona Iverson, who had appeared on his show 20 years earlier. In 2013, Barrymore appeared on the
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
programme ''The Saturday Night Show'', where he discussed his harsh treatment by the press, his addiction and also the possibility of a new show called ''My Kind of Twits''. He subsequently claimed on Twitter that a pilot for ''My Kind of Twits'' would be filmed in May, but this did not happen. Barrymore also appeared on '' The Nolan Show'' in June 2013. In March 2019 Barrymore appeared on '' Piers Morgan's Life Stories''. In September 2019, it was announced that Barrymore would take part in the 12th series of ITV's '' Dancing on Ice'' starting in January 2020. However, on 18 December 2019, he had to withdraw because of a broken hand and was replaced by former '' Blue Peter'' presenter Radzi Chinyanganya.


Personal life

Barrymore met Cheryl Cocklin in 1974 while she was a dancer in a West End theatre show.My kind of autobiography
''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
They married in 1976. Cocklin became his manager and was the mastermind behind Barrymore's rise to fame. She later said that Barrymore had problems with alcohol and depression, and as a result of his attack on her at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, she was placed by British police on the "at risk" register."I feared Barrymore would kill me"
''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
At the height of his popularity, Barrymore suffered increasing alcohol problems. He claims that he wanted to seek help, but that Cocklin continually told him "No, you're not (alcoholic). Don't be stupid."


Sexuality

In mid-1995, at the height of his fame, Barrymore went to The White Swan gay pub in London's East End, where he gave an impromptu stage performance to the largely local crowd, singing the words: "Start spreading the news, I'm gay today", in the style of the " Theme from New York, New York". Within 48 hours, every tabloid newspaper had printed its own version of the evening's events, including an untrue claim that Barrymore had thrown away his wedding ring. In August 1995, Barrymore attended the National Television Awards. At an after-show party on a live late night radio show, he publicly declared he was gay and "no longer wanted to live a lie", following which he broke up with Cocklin. She later claimed Barrymore took the step and did not tell her because of his talks with
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
.


Divorce

After several aborted reunions, Barrymore and Cocklin divorced in 1997. In 2002, she published her autobiography, ''Catch a Falling Star'', which described their acrimonious split. They subsequently had no contact. In his 2006 autobiography ''Awight Now: Setting the Record Straight'', Barrymore claimed that Cocklin was a "control freak" who determined his every move, including the clothes he wore, and that she created "the character that was Michael Barrymore", consequently driving him to alcohol, drugs and gay affairs. In a 2002 interview, he said he was an alcoholic and was in recovery. On 1 April 2005, Cocklin died of lung cancer, aged 55, at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...
.


Filmography


Stand-up videos


References


Further reading

* ''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
'' Barrymore not to blame for son's death, said fathe
Barrymore not to blame for son's death, says father – Life & Style – NZ Herald News
* * * *


External links

*
Michael Barrymore
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrymore, Michael 1952 births 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Southwark BBC people Bisexual comedians Butlins Redcoats Comedians from the London Borough of Southwark English bisexual male actors English game show hosts English LGBTQ broadcasters English LGBTQ comedians English male comedians English male television actors English people convicted of drug offences English people of Irish descent ITV people Living people Male actors from London People from Bermondsey Television controversies in the United Kingdom