George Gilbey’s family have exceeded their fundraising target for his funeral after receiving a sudden rush of donations on Wednesday.
The Gogglebox star tragically died at work last month after he tumbled through a skylight while working on a warehouse roof in Southend-On-Sea, Essex.
Generous members of the public hurried to donate for his funeral, which is yet to be confirmed, after the GoFundMe page struggled to reach its £5,000 target.
Within 24 hours more than £3,000 has been raised, bringing the total to an incredible £5,542.
On Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe page received 211 donations, leaving the total at £3,240.
George Gilbey’s family have exceeded their fundraising target for his funeral after receiving a sudden rush of donations on Wednesday
The Gogglebox star tragically died at work last month after he tumbled through a skylight while working on a warehouse roof in Southend-On-Sea, Essex
The former Celebrity Big Brother star fall 80ft from the roof of EGL Homecare in Shoeburyness and was not wearing a harness.
George appeared on the hit TV show alongside his mother Linda McGarry and stepfather Pete.
His sudden death comes less than three years after his step-father Pete McGarry died from bowel cancer aged 71.
Police confirmed that George fell and sustained an injury at around 10am on March 27. Despite ambulance crews and air ambulances rushing to the scene, he did not survive.
Friends revealed that George scaled the roof of the building without a harness and as his workmates begged him to come down, he fell 80ft through a skylight and landed on the concrete.
One friend told 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, he apparently came through a skylight so fell from the outside of the roof about 80ft on to concrete inside.’ The pal added that George ‘did not stand a chance’.
The former Celebrity Big Brother star fall from the roof of EGL Homecare in Shoeburyness and was not wearing a harness
Generous members of the public hurried to donate for his funeral, which is yet to be confirmed, after the GoFundMe page struggled to reach its £5,000 target
Within 24 hours more than £3,000 has been raised, bringing the total to an incredible £5,542
On Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe page received 211 donations, leaving the total at £3,240
George appeared on the hit TV show alongside his mother Linda McGarry and stepfather Pete, who passed away three years ago from bowel cancer
Police confirmed that George fell and sustained an injury at around 10am on March 27. Despite ambulance crews and air ambulances rushing to the scene, he did not survive
Essex Police revealed on March 28 that a man – understood to be a colleague – was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: ‘As part of our ongoing investigation into the death of a man in Campfield Road, Shoebury on Wednesday 27 March, we have arrested a man in their 40s from the Witham area on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
‘This is a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and our enquiries are ongoing.’
The family left Gogglebox in 2014 when George entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on rival Channel 5 – which was deemed a rule breaker by producers – but they delighted viewers when they returned to the sofa two years later.
George, who had a daughter called Amelie with Gemma Conway in 2016, was part of the fourteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother and even reached the final.
George’s heartbroken relative Sabrina Browning has since shared a tributes to her older brother with Instagram followers.
‘My heart is in absolute pieces,’ she wrote on Thursday. ‘You will be missed so much, no words can explain the kind and gentle heart you showed to all you loved and cared for, thank you for everything, rest in eternal paradise brother.’
Browning also shared a series of photos, among them an image of Gilbey holding one of the two TV BAFTA Awards won by Gogglebox after being named Best Reality and Constructed Factual show in 2014 and 2022.
Days before his death, George had posted a beaming selfie on Facebook in which he shared that he had purchased a gym membership. He captioned the photo of him sweating alongside another picture of a gym card: ‘Done. Full membership.’
Channel 4 led the tributes last month, describing George as ‘part of the Gogglebox family’
Gilbey pictured with his ex-partner Gemma Conway, with whom he shares a seven-year-old daughter
Days before his death, George had posted a beaming selfie on Facebook in which he shared that he had purchased a gym membership. He captioned the photo of him sweating alongside another picture of a gym card: ‘Done. Full membership.’
Channel 4 led the tributes last month, describing George as ‘part of the Gogglebox family’.
Meanwhile fellow TV personality Ricci Guarnaccio, who entered the Big Brother house the same year, wrote: ‘Breaks my heart but George Gilbey you are well and truly going to be missed my friend.
‘Always lit up the room, cared for others & the memories we made I’ll cherish for ever brother. From CBB to speaking to you last week, I’m going to hugely miss you ma boiii! Love you GG.’
Mr Guarnaccio, who also starred on Geordie Shore, said that George’s death came as a result of an ‘accident at work’.
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