‘Suicide pact’ of twin stars in gypsy T V show
TWIN brothers who starred in a TV reality show are feared to have killed themselves in a joint suicide.
Billy and Joe Smith, both 32, who appeared in Channel 4’s My Big Fat gypsy Wedding, were named by friends and family as the victims of a double death being investigated by police.
officers have sealed off a country lane near Sevenoaks in Kent where the bodies of two men were found on Saturday morning. Detectives have refused to confirm the identity of the pair, but a force spokesman said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious.
The Smith brothers appeared in the third series of My Big Fat gypsy Wedding in 2011, and were pictured on their way to a Tenerife holiday together.
on camera they discussed their traveller lifestyle, and talked about their hopes of finding wives and marrying.
But Joe had apparently been diagnosed with cancer, relatives said, and the news had been a severe blow to his brother.
‘Joey had cancer, and Billy told him, “I’d never be able to live without you”,’ cousin Phoebe Charleen Smith told The Daily Telegraph. ‘Joey told the family he got the all-clear after chemo two months ago, but we don’t know if that’s true now.
‘They went missing, and Joey’s phone was turned off, so we knew something was wrong.
‘Then we found a note, saying that they wanted it like this, and we would find them in the woods where they played together as children years ago. My uncle ran up there and found them.’
only days before the double death the twins, who were gardeners, had been filmed singing and dancing together apparently happily. They celebrated their joint birthday a fortnight ago.
Their co-star on the reality show, Paddy Doherty, last night led tributes to the twins, saying: ‘They were two good-looking boys and it is a terrible tragedy. Pray for the boys’ family, for their mother and father. I’m very sorry for their troubles from the bottom of my heart. May god look after them, may god have mercy on them, they are two angels, harmless, they were unbelievable.’
Billy Smith’s girlfriend Kristina Davey, of Cheltenham, gloucestershire, posted online: ‘hardest day of my life. RIP my perfect Bill, you were so pure so lovely. You made me the happiest girl – did everything for me, showed me love I never had.
‘You always see stuff like this but you just never think it’ll happen to you. I can’t believe I have to type this... struggling to speak never mind put a sentence together. I’m gonna make you so so proud my Bill, my life, my angel.’
Billy had been living in a ground-floor flat in Weald, near Sevenoaks, for 18 months.
A neighbour told The Sun: ‘I am just totally stunned. he was such a lovely guy. We got on well. There were no signs that anything like this would happen. Although he did seem more reserved the last month or so. I just put it down to the winter weather. But they had that special bond that twins have. They were ever so close. They lived for each other.’
residents near the country lane in Kent – which lies close to the A21 – said the spot where the bodies were found was out of sight of any traffic or dog-walkers.
A police spokesman said: ‘Inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the deaths are ongoing but they are not currently being treated as suspicious.’ An inquest into the double death incident is likely to be opened in the new year.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, or go to www.samaritans.org
‘They had that special bond’