Caroline Flack's former dance teacher has issued an impassioned message about kindness following the tragic loss of his friend.
Kevin Adams, who taught the former ex-Love Island host for 20 years since she was a teenager, appeared on Sky News today after news broke that Caroline was found dead at her home yesterday evening.
He spoke passionately about the nature of social media and the consequences of vile words - telling people they 'don't need to be kind'.
He said: "Across the board, across the country, people are feeling there is no way out. And this is something we have to look at. We have to look at the way we speak to each other.
"You were saying before people need to be kind. They don't need to be kind, and when you say people need to be kind, they come back, they bite back, with 'why do I need to be kind?'
"I don't want you to be kind, I want you to think about what you're saying. You don't need to be kind. If you see someone you don't like, you don't need to tell them, just leave them alone.
"You don't need to be kind, they're not asking for you to be kind. I'm asking you if you've got nothing good to say, shut your mouth."
Speaking about his friend, he described Caroline as a 'bright, vivacious teenager' who was triple threat as a talented actor, singer and dancer.
He said she, like every single human being, had flaws before speaking about the dangers of social media.
"[It's] become a tool for people to get to celebrities, and it happens in schools, the same thing. You can get to people outside of their every day control.
"Someone on television picks up a tweet or an Instagram message that's vile, that would not affect them one day.
"You catch them on that one day and that same tweet that didn't affect them the day before will affect them, and it will affect them in such a deep way that the ramifications will go on and it will take one other thing on top of that to make the whole day, the whole week a downer.
"From that downer comes bad thoughts, and from bad thoughts come bad things."
* Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org
