Michael Barrymore

 

One of the biggest scandals to hit British showbusiness in recent times is that of entertainer Michael Barrymore. Barrymore’s zany personality and catchphrase ‘all right’, pronounced in a strong cockney London accent, made him a favourite as a TV game show presenter, comedian and actor, until a major scandal rocked his career and left him a broken man.

 

Coming out

 

Barrymore was born Michael Ciaran Parker on 4 May 1952 in Bermondsey, then a working-class area of London. He lived with his parents on the Dickens Estate but his childhood was marred by sadness. Barrymore was only 11 years old when his father packed up and left, which left a big rift in his life. At the age of 15, he left school and took a job as a Butlins Redcoat, entertaining the public at a local holiday camp. Barrymore showed a natural talent for the work and began to put together an act as a stand-up comic. His skill soon became evident and he was soon appearing on television talent shows. As a result of his successful performances on these shows, he was hired as the warm-up act for television audiences, and by the early 1980s had become a regular face on television comedy shows.

Michael’s career really started to take off under the guidenace of his wife and manager, Cheryl, whom he married in 1976. In 1986 Barrymore made a name for himself with his quirky type of humour on the entertainment show, Strike It Lucky. Other shows followed, and he was voted the UK’s top television star as well as earning enormous sums of money. The crowds loved him, they couldn’t get enough of him, but fame was starting to take its toll.

It was during this time that Barrymore started to have problems with an alcohol addiction. According to his account of the period, he wanted to stop drinking, but his wife Cheryl, also his manager, did not feel he had a problem. However, in 1995, after years of rumours, Barrymore announced that he was gay when being interviewed on the radio. Aware that the news was now out, Barrymore went into a gay pub in London’s east end and told a surprised crowd of drinkers that he was a homosexual, advising them to start spreading the news. Needless to say it wasn’t long before the tabloids got hold of the story, and it was splashed across the front pages of every newspaper.

 

Sexual abuse

 

Barrymore and Cheryl separated shortly after he broke the news of his sexuality. Despite several attempts at reunions, it soon became clear that there was not much hope of sustaining the relationship. After the couple divorced in 1997, Cheryl Barrymore published her autobiography Catch a Falling Star, in which she revealed the negative side of Barrymore’s personality.

His career took a nosedive when viewing figures started to decline on his television shows. He went on to present two more programmes for London Weekend Television – My Kind of Music and Kids Do the Funniest Things – and even tried his hand at acting. But gossip and scandal were never far from his door.

In 2000 Barrymore received a police warning when they found some drugs in a hotel room, and in 2001 allegedly he appeared drunk on stage at a fund-raising event for a children’s charity. It was evident that Barrymore had long been in a mentally fragile state, and matters came to a head in 2001, when on March 31 a young man named Stuart Lubbock was found dead at Barrymore’s home. Witnesses claimed that the man had died in Barrymore’s swimming pool; some thought he had been seen floating on the top of the water, while others claimed he had sunk to the bottom. The scandal reached a high point when it was reported that Lubbock had injuries to his anal area, suggesting that he had been the victim of sexual abuse before he died. Witnesses reported that Barrymore had been seen rubbing cocaine on to Lubbock’s gums that evening, but there was no evidence that he had been forcing him to take the drug. In the end Barrymore was cautioned for possession of cannabis, but there were no other charges.

The following day, Barrymore voluntarily checked himself into the Marchwood Priory in Southampton where he hoped he could conquer his problems with addiction and depression.

 

Sordid scandal

 

On 6 June 2001 drag queen Jonathan Kenney, who was Barrymore’s lover, and an unemployed ex-dustman called Justin Merritt were arrested on suspicion of murder. There was an inquest, but an open verdict was reached because of lack of evidence. At this stage, Cheryl Barrymore intervened and claimed that her ex-husband had lied under oath, saying that he had rubbed cocaine onto several friends’ gums, and that he could have swum into the pool to save Lubbock. Barrymore’s lawyers countered this claim by saying that Lubbock had died accidentally and that he might have been attacked as his body lay in the mortuary, in an instance of necrophilia. The police issued a statement to the effect that this was an absurd suggestion – leaving the case wide open and unsolved.

Relations between Barrymore and his ex-wife had reached an all-time low by this point. Sadly, Cheryl Barrymore was then diagnosed with lung cancer and died at the age of only 55 in April 2005. After her death, Barrymore published his own autobiography, Awight Now: Setting the Record Straight, in which he claimed that Cheryl was a controlling person who had suppressed his true personality to the extent that he was forced to take solace in drugs, alcohol and gay sex. Not surprisingly, the sordid scandal surrounding Barrymore’s social life ruined his career as a ‘family’ entertainer, and he was no longer able to function as a TV game show host.

Barrymore moved to New Zealand for a time, with his partner Shaun Davis, in an attempt to escape the press. But his problems were not over – there would be no running away. In January 2006, a lawyer named Anthony Bennett began a private prosecution of Barrymore, teaming up with Lubbock’s father to form The Lubbock Trust. Barrymore and Lubbock’s father, Terry, met up in a hotel to discuss the matter, and reportedly Terry was persuaded that Barrymore was not responsible for the death of his son. However, the disputes continued, and eventually it became clear that the Essex Police had bungled the investigation, and that there had been some sort of cover-up.

 

The future

 

As all this was going on, Barrymore made a high-profile appearance on a reality TV show, Celebrity Big Brother, in which it became clear that he was in an extremely highly strung state. There was some controversy surrounding his relationship with another contestant, Jodie Marsh, and he was dubbed ‘Bullymore’ by her, but he proved popular among the viewers, mainly because he was one of the few people on the show to display any talent as an entertainer.

On 14 June 2007 the police announced that they had arrested Michael Barrymore on suspicion of murder, along with Kenney and Merritt. This was over six years since the death of Stuart Lubbock. However, they were all later released without charges. Since that time, Barrymore has shown signs of wanting to resume his show-business career, although tabloid newspapers continue to report his drink and drug-fuelled antics on the gay scene. Whatever the future holds for the 54-year-old entertainer, it is clear that the scandal surrounding the death of Stuart Lubbock will continue to haunt him until what really happened that fateful night is made clear.