Heartbreak as Room To Improve star Michael, 15, dies in accident
Room To Improve’s Michael loses life
THE brave teen who captured the hearts of the nation on TV show Room To Improve has died after a tragic accident.
Michael Stokes, 15, was a huge hit when he appeared on the RTE One programme in 2016.
He passed away in Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Dublin, after what is believed to have been a fall on Saturday.
On the show, Michael’s former teacher Ann Higgins and her husband Barry redesigned their house to accommodate the wheelchair-bound teen.
Their episode, where Michael told host Dermot Bannon to go back to the drawing board, is one of the top moments from its 12-season run.
Bannon was tasked with revamping their 1970s semi-detached home in Malahide, North Dublin. Most impor- tantly, it had to be just right for Michael’s weekly sleepovers at his home away from home.
Tributes have begun to pour in for him with one friend saying: “Anyone who watched Michael with Dermot on Room To Improve could only be enraptured by Michael’s disarming charm and the love shared between him, Ann and Barry as Dermot redesigned their house to accommodate Michael.
“Sad news that Michael has passed on. Rest Easy Michael – you were an inspiration to all who watched and all who met you.” A death notice on RIP.IE
said: “He will be sadly missed by his parents, brothers, sisters, extended family and a large circle of friends.”
Michael also appeared on The Late Late Show with Barry earlier this year.
He excitedly told viewers he was being fostered by Ann and Barry and was staying with them six days a week.
He said: “I knew Ann because she was my teacher and I met Barry at my Communion party. I have my own bed, I have my own desk. I love everything, everything is at my level.”
Michael is reposing at home in Malahide from 4pm to 7pm today.
Removal will take place tomorrow to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Seabury, Malahide, arriving for 10am funeral Mass followed by burial in Dardistown Cemetery.
Any donations should be made to Temple Street Hospital.
You were an inspiration to all who watched and all who met you MICHAEL’S FRIEND ON REMARKABLE TEENAGER