Michael Barrymore says he was “eaten up and spat out” after the death of Stuart Lubbock at his home.
Barrymore’s TV career effectively ended on March 31, 2001, when the butcher was found dead in the swimming pool at his home in Roydon, Essex.
The entertainer has been criticised for leaving the scene before police had arrived and refusing to answer questions at the inquest about any drug use at the party held that night.
But appearing on ITV’s Life Stories, 67-year-old Barrymore is adamant he is “100% innocent” and should be able to “walk with my head held high”.
Asked by host Piers Morgan about Lubbock’s death, Barrymore says: “I could not be more sorry that this event took place.
“I gave Stuart nothing. There were no E’s at my house. I had a joint. If there was cocaine he didn’t get it from me.
“Stuart’s family deserve proper answers and the police have not completed their inquiries properly.”
Diana
Barrymore said it was “the wrong thing to do” to leave his house and go to his friend’s bungalow several minutes away at the end of the drive after Lubbock, 31, had died.
The star says he took some letters he was sent by Princess Diana from his office that he worried “people would see”.
Barrymore also says at his worst he was drinking “a couple of bottles of Jack Daniels a day” and tried to kill himself.
Towards the end of the interview, the fallen star cries but says he “feels amazing” being back on a TV set.
Asked if the chat had given him a taste for a comeback, he said: “Of course it has. But I’ll get over it if it doesn’t come back. I am not going to sit waiting for the phone to ring.”
- Piers Morgan’s Life Stories airs Saturday at 9.35pm on ITV.
