CBBC Host Implicated in Girlfriend's 'Drug' Death

[Teddy Bear]

Following a host of scandals surrounding BBC childrens programmes, here's a new one. Both the woman who died, and her boyfriend being held by police, would appear to have been involved with hard drug taking. Is it surprising that the lack of integrity exhibited by the BBC in nearly every field they 'sow' in, would also be reflected in the lack of character judgement when hiring those they employ for the various jobs. Considering that these people are the role models for the children who watch them, their behaviour is completely inexcusable and reprehensible. Notwithstanding that the childrens parents are still forced to pay the TV tax that gives these degenerates the jobs in the first place.

TV host arrested after fiancee's 'cocaine' death
By Gordon Rayner, Caroline Gammell and John Steele
Last Updated: 2:29am GMT 05/01/2008

Mark Speight, one of the BBC's most popular children's TV presenters, has been arrested after his fiancée was found dead in a bath at the couple's penthouse flat.

Speight, who dialled 999 to report Miss Collins's death on Thursday, was held initially on suspicion of murder and of supplying a class A drug.

He was released on bail after being questioned at a central London police station.

Police sources said no post mortem examination had yet been carried out and the death was being treated as "unexplained".

Detectives have all but ruled out foul play and are investigating whether Speight supplied drugs to Miss Collins which may have caused or contributed to her death at their home in St John's Wood, north London.

Speight, 42, the star of BBC1's long-running SMart show, said he was "absolutely distraught" and had "nothing to do with Natasha's death".

Yesterday a friend of Miss Collins's family said: "It is just a tragic accident which the family are trying to come to terms with. She was a lovely girl, very beautiful, and we are all devastated."

Speight and Miss Collins met when they co-starred in the BBC children's game show See It, Saw It in 1999, and had been together for more than five years.

A statement issued by Speight's solicitor Nabeel Sheikh said: "Mark has been questioned by the police on account of the fact that the body of his fiancée, Natasha Collins, was found in the flat they shared.

"At the moment no one knows what happened. Mark found her body in the bathroom and immediately called an ambulance and the police.

"Mark was the only other person present in the flat and has therefore been questioned by police as a matter of course. He is assisting police with their inquiries and had nothing to do with Natasha's death."

The BBC has cancelled today's 10am showing of SMart - which was a repeat - and is yet to decide whether to screen next week's episodes. A new series is scheduled for later this year.

Speight's mother Jackie, who lives in Wolverhampton, said: "I'm in absolute shock. I was only with them at Christmas, I really can't believe it. They both seemed fine and very happy and we had a lovely time. I really can't take this all in."

Last month Speight played Buttons in Cinderella at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth, Herts, where Miss Collins helped out by selling pantomime merchandise.

Miss Collins had been trying to break into adult acting roles, and had minor parts in the children's BBC series The 10th Kingdom and ITV's Real Women before her career was cut short when she was knocked down by a car seven years ago and was seriously injured.

The accident left her prone to serious seizures and fits, but she took on regular modelling and advertising jobs.

Toxicology tests will show whether she was taking any prescription drugs for her medical condition. In her entry on the Friends Reunited website, Miss Collins talks of her plans to have children with Speight, and to use compensation she was due from her car accident to set up a production company and have "a huge fancy dress wedding with my 'Smart' prince charming Mark".

The arrest is the latest setback for Children's BBC, which has endured a series of scandals in recent years. The Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon was sacked in 1998 after admitting taking drugs, Janet Ellis announced live on air that she was having a child out of wedlock and Peter Duncan admitted he had appeared in an adult film.

Blue Peter has also admitted faking competition winners and rigging a vote to name a cat.

[Teddy Bear]

I wonder what the BBC will say now in an effort to 'restore public confidence' in the role models they choose to run childrens television.

BBC children's host died after cocaine binge
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 3:46pm BST 02/04/2008

The fiancée of former BBC children's television star Mark Speight died after bingeing on cocaine and alcohol and falling unconscious in a bath of scalding hot water, an inquest has heard.

Natasha Collins met Mark Speight when they worked together on the children's TV programme See It, Saw It
Natasha Collins, who was also a presenter on children's TV, suffered 60 per cent burns as water from a running hot tap rose up around her.

Mr Speight found the 31-year-old dead when he woke up after "partying" with his fiancée on cocaine, sleeping pills, wine and vodka.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying class A drugs, but last month Scotland Yard said he would not face any charges over Miss Collins's death.

In February he resigned as the presenter of the acclaimed art programme SMart, which he had fronted for 10 years, saying his "tragic loss" left him unable to continue.

A gaunt-looking Mr Speight, 43, attended the inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court in London, where he was sworn in as a witness but said he had nothing to add to the evidence of other witnesses, including police who had interviewed him after his arrest.

He had told detectives that he woke up in the afternoon on January 3, after drinking and taking drugs with Miss Collins at the couple's flat in St John's Wood, north-west London, and dialled 999 after finding his fiancée dead in the bath, wearing a cropped top.

Westminster Coroner Dr Paul Knapman said: "We have heard that, within the privacy of their flat, they had embarked on adventurous behaviour, ignoring the risks.

"She has suffered the consequences by the ending of her life. It is a tragedy, of course, for all concerned."

He recorded a verdict of death by misadventure after noting that Miss Collins had a "very significant" amount of cocaine in her body at the time of death.

Dr Knapman said the evidence pointed to Miss Collins collapsing in the bath.

He said: "It does seem from this that, whilst Mr Speight was asleep, at some stage she got up. She went into the bathroom. She had a bath.

"It is more likely than not that she had some heart problem when in the bath that caused her to lose consciousness and unfortunately she had the hot tap on."

The coroner noted that there would have been "sufficient" cocaine in the presenter's blood to kill her anyway.

Miss Collins, who met Mr Speight when they worked together on the children's TV programme See It, Saw It, had a small hole in the septum of her nose, suggesting sustained cocaine use.

Consultant pathologist Professor Sebastian Lucas told the inquest "high" levels of cocaine well within the range at which the drug can be fatal were found in Miss Collins's blood stream.

Tests discovered 3.42 milligrams of a chemical resulting from the breakdown of cocaine per litre of blood. The coroner noted that deaths had occurred with levels of just 0.7 milligrams. She had also taken a "significantly high" level of sleeping pills.

The pathologist gave the cause of death as cocaine toxicity and immersion in hot water.

After the verdict, Mr Speight issued a joint statement with Miss Collins' mother, Carmen, in which they paid tribute to the presenter.

The statement read: "Natasha was a loving daughter, fiancee, sister and friend, with a very positive attitude towards life.

"She was always thinking of others. We are devastated that her life was cut short and we miss her deeply. She will always remain in our hearts."