Barrymore: I have been bullied over pool death
FALLEN TV star Michael Barrymore yesterday broke his silence about the death of a guest at his home 19 years ago to complain he was being ‘bashed and bullied’ by the media.
It came hours before a documentary examining the events at the Essex property was due to air on Channel 4 last night.
Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead in the pool at the entertainer’s home in 2001. A post-mortem examination showed he had suffered major internal injuries consistent with rape.
Barrymore, 67, posted a video on Twitter yesterday in which he protested his innocence and offered his ‘heartfelt sympathies’ to Mr Lubbock’s family.
He said: ‘I have had nothing to do with this whatsoever and yet I keep getting bashed and bullied by the media.
‘My heartfelt sympathies are with the Lubbock family and I truly hope they find peace.’
He also said that Channel 4 bosses are ‘refusing’ to show him the documentary – called Barrymore: The Body in the Pool – or tell him what is in it.
Mr Lubbock’s father Terry, 75, last night accused Barrymore of ‘crocodile tears’.
He said: ‘It’s a joke, isn’t it? I’m not buying it.’
Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings, who is in charge of a fresh probe into the case, this week said everyone present at the £2million mansion on the night of the tragedy remained a suspect.
Barrymore and two other people were arrested on suspicion of rape and serious assault in 2007. No charges were brought due to lack of evidence. He later won an unlawful arrest case on a technicality and was awarded nominal damages.
The cause of Mr Lubbock’s death was never established and an open verdict was recorded by a coroner following conflicting reports from pathologists.