Body in pool returns to haunt Barrymore

IT IS the death that will not go away and which has cast a heavy pall over a man once one of Britain's best-loved family entertainers. As Michael Barrymore was arrested by police yesterday, the question that has plagued him for the last six years has again come to the fore: what does he know about the death of Stuart Lubbock in his swimming pool?

The arrest of 55-year-old Barrymore on suspicion of murder, along with two other men, marks a dramatic new twist in the long-running saga of Mr Lubbock, who died at the age of 31 in the pool of Barrymore's Essex home.

Essex police confirmed the trio were also being questioned about allegations of serious sexual assault.

It is a new low for Barrymore - a man about whom the prefix "troubled" is routinely heard - and also a victory for Mr Lubbock's father Terry, who has proven unrelenting in his campaign to unearth what really happened at Barrymore's £2 million home in Roydon, in the early hours of 31 March, 2001.

Mr Lubbock Snr has consistently argued that a catalogue of unanswered questions surround the death of his son. The family's campaign has extended to an attempt at a private prosecution and a concerted effort to press Barrymore for fresh information every time he attempts a comeback.

To try to understand what happened on that fateful night is to take a trip into the increasingly twilight world of Michael Barrymore. Claims of casual sexual encounters, hard drinking and drug-taking shroud the man once regarded as a byword for family entertainment.

Mr Lubbock was not gay, his family insist. However, the supervisor at a meat-packing factory did go back to the Barrymore mansion with eight others after meeting the comedian at the Millennium Club in Harlow, Essex. Weekly parties were said to be a regular feature at Barrymore's home.

Mr Lubbock's body was discovered floating in the star's 30ft swimming pool shortly before 5:30am, about an hour after he was seen alive in the nearby whirlpool.

He was found clad in a pair of grey boxer shorts carrying the motif "Outfit". At 5:50am, the Essex ambulance service notified police. Mr Lubbock was taken to Harlow's Princess Alexandra Hospital, but was pronounced dead at 8:32am.

Post-mortem results showed the 31-year-old may have had sex with two men and could have had an implement inserted into his body, despite the insistence by the dead man's family over his sexuality.

A medical expert at the inquest in September 2002 said the injuries would have been "excruciatingly painful", equivalent to a serious sexual assault. Tiny haemorrhages on the dead man's face and behind his eyes suggested possible constriction of the neck, a practice known to be linked to some sexual acts.

Mr Lubbock was found to be three times over the drink-drive limit and to have taken a quantity of ecstasy capable of causing death. Cocaine traces were also discovered.

Barrymore gave evidence to the inquest, but refused to answer questions over allegations he gave Mr Lubbock cocaine just hours before his body was found. Faced with various possible explanations as to why Mr Lubbock might have begun to swallow water in the pool, the coroner recorded an open verdict in September 2002.

The star was, officially at any rate, off the hook. But in reality, the comedian's career sank as the seedy circumstances of the death emerged. The entertainer, who routinely attracted audiences of up to 13 million viewers throughout the 1980s for shows such as Strike It Lucky and My Kind Of People, was criticised for leaving his house in a hurry after the body was found.

The partying was typical of the behaviour in which Barrymore appeared to engage after declaring his homosexuality in 1995. Some observers put his increasingly rudderless life down to his split from Cheryl, his manager and wife of 19 years, who died two years ago. PR expert Max Clifford, who knew Mrs Barrymore well, said: "The worst thing from a career point of view that ever happened to Michael Barrymore was when he split up from Cheryl."

The comedian began to appear in the tabloids with disturbing regularity amid tales of drug and drink use.

Barrymore's career began to stall in tandem with his apparent devotion to hedonism. In 2000, he appeared in a television series about a troubled gameshow host, but television work evaporated after the Lubbock death hit the headlines.

In late 2002, ITV said it had no plans to commission further shows from Barrymore, once on a £2 million-a-year deal with the broadcaster.

The final ignominy came in 2003 when a comeback theatre show folded after just three nights amid dire reviews.

Barrymore fled to New Zealand, ostensibly to start a new life with his new partner Shaun Davis. However, he has been back in the UK for a month, reportedly after splitting with Davis. The comedian has returned to London showbusiness circles and last week attended the final of search-for-a-star show Joseph with the life coach Carole Caplin.

There were signs in early 2006 that Barrymore might seek to end his self-imposed exile. The entertainer returned briefly to UK television in January as a contestant in Celebrity Big Brother, finishing as runner-up. He appears to have thought that show of public support signalled a comeback was possible.

But Barrymore's career now appears further away from rescue than ever. Mr Lubbock Snr, who has written a book Not Awight: Getting Away With Murder, due for publication next month, described the arrests as "a major step".

He said: "It feels like it is the end of a long struggle. I have been in limbo for six years, I have put my life on hold, I can't get those years back."

• THE investigation into Stuart Lubbock's death on 31 March 2001 has been marked by a series of twists. A year on, police announced no charges would be brought against Michael Barrymore over the 31-year-old's death. The only censure over the incident came in October the previous year, when the comedian received a police caution for cannabis possession and allowing the drug to be smoked at his house.

In September 2002, an inquest recorded an open verdict. However, the Coroner, in a telling remark, said none of the witnesses had "an explanation about how Stuart Lubbock should be found floating in a swimming pool with a significant level of alcohol and drugs in his system and have serious anal injuries".

There were three significant legal developments in 2006. In February, Mr Lubbock's family were blocked from launching a private prosecution against the celebrity, after a district judge ruled there was insufficient evidence.

In April, police announced they were reviewing Mr Lubbock's death as part of "routine" procedure and in December, Essex Police began a fresh inquiry into the death.