George Gilbey’s friends have opened a fundraiser to assist with the Gogglebox star’s funeral costs after his death at 40.
The father of one died on Wednesday, following a serious ‘work accident’, in Shoebury, Southend-on-Sea.
Reportedly, he fell to his death while on the roof of a warehouse without a harness, and plunged 80ft through a skylight before landing on concrete.
Gilbey’s mother Linda, who he appeared with on the Channel 4 show, is said to be devastated, with a source stating The Sun: ‘This will hit his family very hard, especially Linda.
‘George was like her little treasure.’
His friends have now launched a GoFundMe page to help cover costs of the funeral.
The appeal, posted by friend of the family Rob Barlow, who works for Clacton funeral service, reads: ‘I’ve been asked on behalf of Linda George’s mother to set up this go fund me page so we can give George the send off he deserves.
‘I know , he was such a big character in life and is going tohis passing has come to a shock for a lot of people be sorely missed by friends, family and all who knew him.
‘I think I can safely say we all enjoyed watching him on Gogglebox, Big Brother and all his other TV appearances.
‘Anything you can donate would be a great help to the family so thank you in advance, all money will go to Linda George’s mother to pay for his funeral costs and any funds that are left over after will be given to George’s 8 year old daughter Amelie.
‘The funeral date is still to be confirmed and will be updated in due course.’
At the time of writing, £1185 has been raised of the £5000 target, with several donators paying tribute in the comments section.
Gilbey first appeared on our screens in September 2013 on the well-liked show with his mother Linda and late stepdad Peter, before appearing on Celebrity Big Brother the following year, where he finished in fourth place.
The family returned to Gogglebox in 2016, before Gilbey left two years later and Linda and Pete continued without him until 2020. Pete died in 2021 following a short illness.
On Thursday, Essex Police said they had arrested a man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection to Gilbey’s death. He has since been released under investigation. Inquiries are ongoing.
A colleague who was there when Gilbey fell to his death later said The Sun: ‘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.
'Then, it seems he entered through a skylight and fell from the roof outside, about 80 feet, onto concrete inside.'
Gogglebox is shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Fridays.
