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Michael Barrymore has announced he is pursuing legal action after claiming a social media account dedicated to the death of Stuart Lubbock has subjected him to sustained harassment and spread false allegations about his personal life.
In an emotional video shared to TikTok, the former TV presenter, 74, said he could no longer remain silent about what he described as ‘misinformation’ surrounding the long-running case.
‘There’s been a lot of misinformation about the tragic death of Stuart Lubbock, and I simply cannot allow it to carry on,’ Barrymore said.
The entertainer claimed a TikTok account discussing the case had accused him of numerous unrelated allegations, including abusing his former wife and being friends with disgraced broadcaster Jimmy Savile.
‘I never did,’ Barrymore said of the domestic abuse claims.
‘Please, absolutely not. I never have been in my life,’ he added regarding allegations he was friends with Savile.
The presenter accused the account of being more focused on attacking him than seeking answers about Stuart Lubbock’s death.
‘It’s just clearly that this individual doesn’t give a f*** about Stuart Lubbock,’ he said.
‘It’s all me in the thumbnails, my face, pointing fingers, question marks, and making the whole story so it’s just one sided.’
Barrymore went on to repeat his long-standing position that he had no involvement in Lubbock’s death.
‘There is no evidence that connects me or anybody else at my house to the death of Stuart Lubbock, and there never will be, because it’s fictional and it’s made up,’ he said.
Lubbock, a 31-year-old father of two, was found unconscious in the swimming pool at Barrymore’s Essex home following a party in March 2001.
His death sparked one of the most controversial and heavily scrutinised investigations in British celebrity history.
Officers who later reviewed the inquiry acknowledged mistakes were made in the crucial early hours after Lubbock’s death, with concerns raised about how the scene was preserved and evidence gathered.
In the years that followed, investigators examined whether Lubbock had been sexually assaulted before his death after post-mortem examinations revealed severe internal injuries. Essex Police later stated that two items seen in crime scene photographs — a pool thermometer and a cupboard handle — were never recovered and therefore could not be forensically tested.
Former senior investigating officer DCI Stephen Jennings subsequently said he believed Lubbock had been ‘raped and murdered’ on the night he died, while appealing for new information from anyone who attended the gathering.
However, despite multiple investigations, arrests and reviews of evidence, no one has ever been charged in connection with Lubbock’s death.
Throughout the years, Barrymore has consistently denied any involvement and has argued that he became the focus of public suspicion despite there being no evidence linking him to the death.
In 2007, he was arrested and questioned alongside two other men who attended the party, but all were later informed they would face no charges.
The entertainer has also been involved in a lengthy legal battle with Essex Police. In 2017 he won a wrongful arrest claim against the force, with the High Court ruling that his arrest had been unlawful, although the judgment did not concern the circumstances of Lubbock’s death itself.
Meanwhile, Stuart’s father, the late Terry Lubbock, spent much of the final years of his life campaigning for answers about what happened to his son, repeatedly urging witnesses to come forward and calling for the case to be fully resolved.
The case returned to public attention in 2025 following a Channel 4 documentary examining the investigation and police handling of evidence.
During his TikTok video, Barrymore also criticised aspects of the original investigation and repeated claims he has previously made regarding evidence and post-mortem findings.
He said: ‘I took the police to court in 2017 and I won my case for wrongful arrest.’
Barrymore appeared particularly frustrated by what he described as a failure by social media platforms to act on complaints he had raised, saying: ‘I’ve just got back from an overnight in London, and the cyber police, the Met, are looking into this as a serious case of harassment and defamation,’ he claimed.
‘Plus I’ll be looking to take on solicitors to deal with this as well.’
He added that TikTok had allegedly been sent cease-and-desist letters but had failed to take action. ‘TikTok was sent cease and desist letters and a chance to deal with this last week. They did absolutely nothing,’ he said.
‘Shame on you, TikTok. You should be looking after your creators.’
The video became increasingly emotional as Barrymore spoke about the toll decades of scrutiny have taken on his mental health, saying: ‘I tried to kill myself once because of all this s***.’
‘Honestly guys, you can’t comprehend the mental suffering this is giving me. It’s just unbelievable.’
He continued: ‘It’s got to stop. Just stop it, please, for Christ’s sake.’
Barrymore concluded by addressing those behind the allegations directly: ‘All those that want to bring me down are having a jolly good time at the moment.’
‘It’s just wrong. You should be ashamed of yourself. F*** you, whoever you are doing this.’
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