Barrymore: The Body in the Pool airs at 9pm on Channel 4 tonight, detailing the events of Stuart Lubbock’s death – the moment that ended Michael Barrymore’s long career.
The 90-minute documentary goes into forensic detail, retelling the story of the tragic death of 31-year-old Stuart Lubbock.
It shows interviews with those who were there and broadcasts the original 999 call to investigate one of Essex police’s most notorious unsolved cases.
Barrymore denies any involvement in Lubbock’s death, but the media frenzy that surrounded the case destroyed the TV star’s illustrious career.
He was widely regarded as one of the biggest stars of his generation, and had a career than spanned over four decades, starting with winning a 1975 edition of the famous talent show New Faces.
He tried to relaunch his career in December 2005 when he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house alongside names such as Pete Burns, George Galloway and Chantelle Houghton.
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The series became famous for Barrymore’s intense clashes with Galloway and Jodie Marsh.
Despite being the bookie’s favourite, he finished in second place behind the ‘non-celebrity’ Chantelle.
The peak of Barrymore’s popularity came when he was hosting ITV game show Strike It lucky, later titled Strike It Rich, in the 1980s and 1990s.
The show attracted up to 20 million viewers at its peak and shot him to stardom.
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During this time, Barrymore was one of Britain’s most popular TV personalities.
He became known for his iconic phrases “Awight!” and “When is a hot spot not?” on the show.
In 1995, he had a show called My Kind of People, where he travelled around the country in a customised sports car visiting shopping centres where amateurs would appear on the show and perform unrehearsed.
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Barrymore would engage with the acts, often joining in and making the audience laugh.
Famously, Susan Boyle performed on the show, 13 years before her big break on Britain’s Got Talent.
Gareth Gates also appeared on the show, six years before appearing on Pop Idol.
Throughout the 1990s, he had a show called Barrymore, where he interviewed guests, performed his routines and joined in on other acts’ performances.
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Barrymore’s last big show before Lubbock’s death was Animals Do The Funniest Things.
Similar to You’ve Been Framed!, the show featured home videos sent in by viewers of animals doing absurd and comical things.
In 2014, Barrymore appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show on ITV where he spoke in depth about his career, his marriage and his sexuality.
He also spoke about his long standing battle with alcohol and drugs.
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In September 2019, it was announced that Barrymore would be competing in the twelfth series on Dancing on Ice but had to withdraw due to injury.
He was replaced by former Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya but did appear in the pre-recorded Christmas special on December 22 2019.
