CHAPTER 51 HOW STRONG IS THEIR LOVE
2007 was soon coming to an end. A year that had ended with such heartache to do with my darling friend Mia, jumping in front of a moving underground train, in the attempt to take her own life. I really wished and prayed that the New Year (2008) would not only bring me but others close to me all the very happiness in life that we all deserved, such as people like Mia.
It had been a tough time for me to get through the last few months but thanks to, two lovely friends of mine, the famous British television presenter Mark Speight and his lovely girlfriend, the British actress Natasha Collins, both had been there for me so much of recent. They were such good friends and dear to my heart.
Tasha back in 2001, was cast in a main role in the Channel 4 successful hit show Hollyoaks, but later the same day was involved in a serious car accident, which left her in a coma and hospitalised for a long period of time.
The incident left her with seizures that curtailed her career though she would still go on and to work in television and modelling as well. Mark and Tasha had got in engaged a few years after in 2005, while on holiday in Barbados. On their return to London, with the wonderful exciting news of their engagement, I put on an engagement celebration dinner for them both at the lovely restaurant in the Great Marlbourgh Street Courthouse Hotel.
We had such a wonderful silly evening, filled with so much laughter that many a times, we all were told to quiet down the noise as other guests, who were dinning in the posh restaurant, weren’t too happy with our silliness. I had that year been on tour with Mark (as his personal security) throughout the U.K, when he was presenting an art theme show for ITV This Morning Show.
We had been close for so long and he always held a hell of a lot trust in me and more so when a certain leading British newspaper was trying to get some story on him. It was me, who he came to for help and I made sure that the newspaper which was involved, put it to bed and left him and Tasha alone. He was so grateful for my help but it’s what true friends do for one another. Like how he and Tasha both had been there for me during the difficult time, I was going through with trying to deal with Mia`s attempts at suicide. I truly couldn’t thank them enough for all the love and support; they gave me as such true friends are hard to come by. All the many charity parties, I had done in relation with the television show ITV This Morning Show that I had previously worked on, both Mark and Tasha would also support my evenings, by coming along.
Just before Christmas, I put on a drink at the very same up market luxury hotel with Mark and Tasha and also a neighbour of Marks and his Russian fashion designer girlfriend, wishing everyone a lovely Christmas and all the very best for the New Year. Glasses were raised and champagne was spilled and laughter again was loud and smiles were shared as we wished each other, the very best of 2008. When the evening ended and we were saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways, promising one another, we all would meet up again soon in the New Year.
What I`m about to write now is from a newspaper report as it will give you an idea what was soon to come in the lives of two of my dearest friends. Friends, who had only been there for me when I nearly lost Mia but now what was to come, was the loss of two most beautiful of friends, that it’s too hard for me to write about as words can’t express the loss of them both and the utter sadness, that surrounded both of their deaths, one soon after another. Only until I have the strength to come back to this chapter of my book, will I be able to add to it so for now, here is what the very start of the new year of 2008 brought for me: On the afternoon of 3 January 2008 (after Mark and Tasha had been partying) Mark called emergency services after waking up to discover Tasha`s body in the bath of their St John's Wood flat, in North West London. Mark told police that he and Tasha had spent the previous evening "partying", drinking wine and vodka, and taking cocaine and then ending the evening by taking sleeping pills to help them both get off to sleep. Mark was questioned by police since he was the only other person living in the flat, and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder and of supplying class `A drugs`, but was released on bail until the first week of February.
Because of this, the BBC cancelled the Saturday repeat edition of Smart, which was the television that Mark became famous for as the main presenter. An inquest, which opened on 8 January 2008, heard that the death was not thought to be suspicious but should be "subject to further investigation". At that point, police were awaiting results of toxicology tests after a post-mortem examination was inconclusive. The BBC cancelled repeat broadcasts of all television shows that Mark was the presenter on until further notice. On 28 February, Mark announced he was quitting the television show SMart, because the "tragic loss" of his beautiful Tasha. Her death had left him unable to continue with the show. Mark denied any involvement with Tasha's death, and on 19th of March, it was reported that the police were no longer considering Speight as a suspect.
In April 2008, the coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure in relation to Tasha. The cause of death was "cocaine toxicity and immersion in hot water", according to the consultant pathologist. The inquest found that she had taken "very significant" amounts of cocaine with sleeping pills and vodka, and that she had suffered 60% burns to her body, including her tongue. The coroner noted that at some stage in the night after both Mark and Tasha had gone to bed, Tasha got up to have a bath. He said that it was "more likely than not" that a heart problem had caused Tasha to fall unconscious while the hot tap was running. Following Tasha`s death, Mark couldn’t bear living in his flat as the memories of Tasha death and finding her body, were just too much to take.
I just want to add that there love they had for one another was so strong, stronger than I had ever since between two people as these two were more than soul mates as truly, they were even more than that in love. Mark planned to meet with Collins's mother at Covent Garden for a coffee on the afternoon of 7 April. He was dropped off at Wood Green tube station that morning, but never showed up to meet her.
Mark then missed an appointment with a counsellor, but this was because of confusion over dates. Two police officers spoke to him, as he appeared "vacant", "distracted" and "deep in thought", but he refused their help. He was captured on CCTV in the afternoon taking money from a cash machine at Queen's Park station, and he subsequently boarded a southbound Bakerloo line train. He was reported missing the following day by family and friends, and his mother and the mother of Natasha Collins made a public appeal in which they urged him to make contact. Mark`s father also appealed for him to get in touch.
On 13 April, Speight's body was discovered hanging from the roof of MacMillan House, adjacent to London's Paddington Station, hidden from public view, six days after he died. The discovery was made by railway workers at 10:00am and British Transport Police confirmed that the body was Mark`s on 14 April 2008. An inquest into his death opened on 16 April 2008, and a post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as hanging. It was then adjourned until 20 May. Mark had used his shoes laces to hang himself, to take his own life. The report of Speight's death on the BBC's children's news programme Newsround provoked complaints that it upset young viewers. The BBC decided to avoid using the word "suicide," and instead Newsround reported that "police don't think he was killed by anyone else."