mark speight died
 

the childrens tv presenter mark speight (smart) has been found dead at paddington station after being missing for 6 days

RIP mark

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV host Mark Speight 'found dead'

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How terribly sad, he was really good at his job too and well liked :( he was on telly when I was younger!

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Such a shame, I used to love Scratchy & Co when i was younger.

RIP

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Dont think he ever got over the death of his G/F did he ?

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Gutted i used to love watching him on tv. Legend tbh.

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Hugely Talented, R.I.P, a tragic end.

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What a shame, I was hoping it wouldn't end like this, a talented and well loved man.
R.I.P Mark.

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awww such a waste of a young and talented life R.I.P Mark

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and they say coke is fun drug!!! R.I.P such a waste and very sad

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Very sad. :(

R.I.P Mark

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A Life Gone To Wast And A Good Childrens Presenter
Rip
MARK

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Terribly sad, RIP at last Mark

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Very Sad Indeed. Remember watching smart a few times , had a really good talent with art! Nice guy and a big loss. Rip Mark :(:(

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RIP mark i used to love his zany actions during big picture little picture skit

this just highlights how cocaine does ruin lives and not just the users either.

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Big picture was my favourite bit 2... he was hilarious

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Guess it just goes to show that the BBC doesn't operate a drug free work place , wonder how many other druggies and junkies are employed and paid for from taxpayers license fees . :eek: :eek:

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Sorry never heard of him, but he seemed to be a favourite, by the posts I've read.

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R.I.P Mark
used to watch him with the kids they loved him

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/a...d-nspeight.jpg

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yeah and its not as if they can impose a drug testing policy - there's major sportppl that get away with taking coke for a long time - aka adrian mutu of chelsea

what ppl do in their own spare time is their own business - aka mr mosely :D

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Sorry , have to disagree with you both on this .........I dont think either of you would approve if you knew your childs teacher was a ' recreational' drug user (or would you?) so why is it okay for someone who has an influence over your childs mind thru the TV set to be a druggie . Don't think you would approve if your local GP was a recreational morphine user would you? and say "Well it's ok , he's only doing it when he's not seeing patients"
Willow , whats wrong with taking employee blood/urine samples ? , if your not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear , right ? How is it anymore of an intrusion into personal privacy than the present situation .......100% of the population of the UK are followed daily by CCTV cameras , how many of them are doing wrong ? . Over 25% of the UK population are on a DNA data base without ever being convicted of a crime, you want those records tossed out , never mind that they have solved many 'cold cases'.
Mani , drug usage by professional football "stars" is down to their clubs as private employers and the F.A. to ensure they are clean , I'm sure you dont approve of the UK olympic team being made up of steriod boosters like some pro wrestling freak show ,

The point of my earlier post was to point out that this guy was a 'public' employee , paid for by your TV license fee ,
My thinking is ........ if I'm paying anyones wages either as an employer or indirectly thru taxation I have the right to expect that they will be 100% clean .

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Sad to say I agree but I would add that I also agree that what people do in their own time is up to them.So if someone in a privalaged possision wants to sniff coke and hang themselves it's no buisiness of mine.There are more important issues.:mad:

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Rip..............

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My son ussed to watch his shows:(

R.I.P ~Mark.....what a waste:(

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Tin hat time !!

Now no-one has said this and I dont know if anyone apart from me will but I have absolutley no sympathy for this guy - he was a drug taking junkie - end of.
I dont care what he did, who he worked for etc, he bought coke from a dealer who supplies the streets of where ever thus keeping the chain flowing...thats wrong and illegal.
so his girlfriend over dosed on a cocktail of tablets and coke - big deal - it happens every day but cos they are half famous it makes the news..
they were both junkies - regardless of the amounts they took (something we will never know) - and as far as I am concerned all junkies deserve the same thing.
2 less from the streets and less money in the dealers pocket.

I know that will get some folks backs up but I dont care cos at the end of the day drugs are drugs are drugs - and it doesnt matter who you are - if you take them your a junkie.

I await the bad karma and to be shot down in flames.

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of course no one wants their kids teacher to be a junkie but it happens

if the teacher was ever caught they wud lose their job thru the crb process BUT no checks for previous exist and this is all upon IF they get caught.

i was workin the doors at a gay nite once and i caught a guy with quite ALOT of coke - after a search it turned out he was a doctor at warrington hospital. a ****in doctor who more than anyone shud know what they do

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none of us knew this man personally...we only know of him what the papers want to tell us(and as sensationally as only the media know how). So I can't see that we are in a position to judge him. He spent the last few weeks of his short life in torment....and now he is gone he has a family who will be in torment too.
I was brought up not to speak ill of the dead...they cannot defend themselves.

I saw this young man on Tv and found his programs interesting and stimulating.......and the children loved him and he stimulated their creativity and imagination......and maybe I am naive(or thick) but there was no way you could tell from his performances that he was a drug user.

No, you wouldn't want a teacher to be using drugs and teaching your children(though I am sure there will be some who do).....but a TV presenter is different, in that he isn't in direct personal contact with the children. And I'm sure the BBC would have stepped in if they thought his performances were affected by drug use.

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RIP Mark.....my thoughts go out to his parents and family.

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Agreed. Good post. Karma sent.

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Thank you Lolly......much appreciated.

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I have never seen him but my grandchildren say he was good. As Margaret says we didn't know him but should be able to sympathise with how he must have suffered since his girlfriend died. Maybe a bit of compassion could be shown, after all there but for the grace of god. R.I.P. reunited with your loved one

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Would you suggest parents stop their children listening to musicans who have ever taken illegal drugs?

From the Beatles, and before that, if you include jazz and blues musicans, right to the present day, there wouldn't be very much to listen to.

Oh, and never let your children watch the Wizard of Oz, because that nice little Dorothy later became addicted to both prescpition and non-prescription drugs.

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well said hun

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how do they know he was a junkie??

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Does that mean anyone that is reliant on prescription drugs is a junkie as well??

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silly hey....

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oh my god i must be a junkie:eek:...no one watch me please ;)

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i take the pill.......am i a junkie?? lol

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No , but I wouldn't glorify them either , there wouldn't be half of the problems there are today if organisations like the BBC had shown some responsibility in their news reporting about drugs , instead of showing the likes of the Rolling Stones laughing and cavorting outside of the courts in the 60s during their drug trials and therefore passing on a subliminal message that drugs are ok .
Think it was Margaret P who mentioned earlier that because it comes through the TV screen its less harmful , sorry, one only has to remember how films of the Nuremberg rallies affected a whole population .

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I think what Glasgow Guy was trying to say,and I agree,is that people all have a choice.Now I don'tknow how long it is since he came here from Glasgow but I used to work in the Eastend- Someone died every week of drug and drink related problems.But these were mostly kids from the slums who fell into a poverty trap that is very hard up there to get out of.They wern't from middle or high class backgrounds.So though I am sorry that he topped himself I won't lose any sleep

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I don't think a persons personal life matters as long as it doesn't interfere with their career. Even teachers of children shouldn't be dismissed in my opinion for having a drugs problem as long as it isn't hindering their teaching abilities.

People are too keen to wrap children in cotton wool and cover their eyes to the world of drugs, sex and violence. I personally believe it is better for them to be aware of it, and I was glad today when I watched CBBC news and they were honest about his death and the fact that his gf died of a drugs overdose a little while back. I think it would've been distasteful to make up a 'nice' story about it.

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I just feel sad that the poor bloke so obviously couldn't cope with his loss even with family and friends around him. He must have spent the last weeks thinking "what if ?".
He had decided what to do and there was no stopping him.
Very sad.

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I'll have to disagree with you on that one, Blazey.

Drugs are mind altering substances, not to mention illegal, assuming you're talking about cocaine. It would be inappropriate, irresponsible and dangerous for a teacher to remain in their job if they had a drug problem.

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might make it more bearable!

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If it's that bad perhaps a career change is called for. ;)

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i like it but its not for everyone, unfortunately too many teachers go from school to college, college to uni and dont have any hands on experience... they qualify and go to work at a school and hate it!!!!

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R.I.P mark

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While I will agree that the whole of the media world seem to revel in making stories out of so-called celebs and their drug habits....I think the mention of the Nuremberg Rallies falls into a different category altogether...were these not pure propaganda.

Mark Speight did not appear on TV and promote drug taking.....he promoted art and creativity, and this he did well.
He didn't ask for his private life to be made public......the media decided to take this decision for him....and once the decision was taken he resigned from his post as a childrens TV presenter.
This Man was a product of the 60s......aren't we in some way responsible for the attitudes that have grown up from those times....leading people to believe that they could have everything......and anything that gave pleasure or fun was OK???
Perhaps you have never got drunk and regretted it.....I know that I have.
Alcohol is a legally sanctioned drug, another mind altering substance...that does just as much damage to children and families......though this comment in no way suggests that I am in favour of recreational drug use....I'm not. I am just trying to provides some sensible perspective.
We are all at liberty to choose our 'demons'......and although Mark Speight was in the public eye...we didn't own him.

I also stand by my comment that there are families who are grieving from the results of this sad loss of life....and we should respect those who are dead, they cannot speak for themselves.

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See this is the reason I suggest a teacher is fine as long as their private life isn't affecting their teaching abilities. I have been taught by people with problems with alcohol, and people who have admittedly taken drugs, but they have still provided me with the same, if not better, education than any other teacher.

Some of my favourite teachers have had problems, more with drink than drugs, but they're still amazing teachers. As a 'celebrity', you have the added burden of it all your personal life being made public, and they obviously don't ask for it, so I think you are spot on Margaret.

This story is sad, and it made me want to cry hearing it on the news. It's deeply saddening that anyone could be nasty enough to just call him a junkie when he was such an inspiring man. If the media hadn't reported he was on drugs, you would have never known from his TV career.

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havent read through all the replies so...

I never once said parents shouldnt let their kids do whatever in regards watching/listening to musicians and film stars...
what I am saying is that I have no sympathy to anyone who takes drugs and dies from them - and by taking drugs and calling someone a junkie I am talking about people who take cocaine/heroin (or drug thats illegal)
- just like the guy who died - and his girlfriend - both drugs are illegal - to supply, take and be in possesion of - you know the risks when taking such things - and whether they were just 'dabbling' or recreational users doesnt matter - they were 'coke heads/smack heads/junkies - call it what you want. doesnt matter how good the guy was on telly etc - he was a user of illegal drugs - whether he died due to the guilt of injecting his girlfriend of drugs thus causing her death we will never know but one things for sure - his/their dealer will be slightly out of pocket... and that suits me just fine..

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Glasgow guy, I respect your opinions....but how would you feel if people were judging your dead son...and judging him by what the media tell us he did??
None of us here know this man. We are only permitted to know him through what the media wish to tell us...and if the media had not told you these things then you would still be in no position to judge the man.
I feel for his family, and his girlfriends family. He died in torment, and that can be no easy death...so however you feel, he did pay the ultimate price for his lifestyle and his perceived pleasures.

You never know how your own children are going to grow up.....and if they go wrong, then you can only be there to help them get their life back on track.
Is there not something in a book that suggests that we judge not, lest we ourselves be judged?

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if it were my son I wouldnt be interested in what anyone says to be honest and in regards to what you say about no one knowing him - this is true so why are so many folk bothered about what I posted initially and why are so many folk upset at his death ? - does everyone get upset when they read the death notices in the local paper regarding people they didnt know ? - probably not.
and you are correct in saying that I dont know how my own kids may grow up - time will tell with that one - and the book you are talking about - is this the worlds best selling story book your talking about?... theres not much in that I believe if I am honest.

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I am not upset at his death per se, but I do find some of the comments a little insensitive....and if you were his parent or a family member I think you would do to.
It cannot be pleasant to think that people are speaking ill of your dead son.
and we all have demons in our past.....no-one is all good or all bad......we should not be judged on one thing in our lives, but the sum total of what we did.
The book I am talking about is a best seller....and while you may not believe in much of it, there are some things that have much truth in them.....but you are entitled to your opinions.

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the Times online says it was suicide :(

TV presenter Mark Speight left two suicide notes before hanging himself - Times Online

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On the news it said that the police are looking at the bigger picture of his death, sent in by amy aged 11 from reading



sorry I'll get my coat and go quietly

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oh Neil.........i shoulda known!!!!

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I think you should get your coat lol

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I liked Mark Speight. He was a great artist. Its very sad!!! :(

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R.I.P Mark. Now your with your girl.

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Not quite, they are both dead, if they had both stayed of the drugs then they would have been together.

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As im of the younger generation i watched his programme smart many times! He used to amaze me how he did it so easily! How with just a pencil and piece of paper he just drew amazing pictures. I remember watching amazed at how he got 2 circles and made into something like a rabbit. I learnt alot from him and used to copy alot that he did. I can draw now and alot of that is down to him and the programme. He was an absolute legend and was a very nice man!

Like Billy Joel Said In A Song - " Only The Good Die Young "

RIP Mark

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My son told me he liked him doing the Big picture and little picture!!, on Smart i think it was....he was crackers!

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Was it not an Art attack!
:o

Sorry!