Ann Widdecombe was reportedly set to appear on a TV show the day before her body was found, after calls and messages from producers went unanswered.
The former Tory prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
However, on Wednesday, Widdecombe was due to be a guest, via video call from her home, on Channel 5‘s Matt Allwright show at 1pm.
A researcher on the Channel 5 show is said to have spoken to Widdecombe on the phone on Wednesday to set up an interview, according to ITV News.
Following their call, the pair exchanged messages shortly after midday before her last message was received at 12.19pm.
When the researcher messaged again at 12.48pm requesting that Widdecombe join the Zoom link to prepare for the remote interview, they received no reply.
After subsequent voice calls and messages were sent to ask whether everything was okay, there was still no response.
Concerns were then raised by the show’s team about the uncharacteristic lack of response by Widdecombe, who was a regular on the show.
They then contacted her agent later on Wednesday and followed up again on Thursday.
A source told The Sun: ‘It was very strange that Ann wasn’t on. Nobody could understand it.
‘She was usually very keen to be on and she is popular with viewers. The producers couldn’t get a hold of her.
‘They tried multiple times on the phone and on text, but she wasn’t reading messages or responding.
‘Obviously there was not much they could do except tell her agent she had not appeared and was not picking up calls.
‘There was some fear that she’d had a medical incident, or maybe needed someone to check on her, but nobody thought she might be dead.
‘The mood when everyone found out was very sad.’
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Writing on social media, Dan Walker – who is a presenter on Channel 5 News – said: ‘Really sad news about Ann Widdecombe. Horrible to think about what she went through.
‘To clarify something we said on the programme tonight… Ann was due to appear on 5 Daytime on Wednesday afternoon but stopped responding to messages and didn’t turn up for the show.
‘The team contacted her agent to ask them to check in on her. This information has been passed to police as it’s part of the investigation.’
Earlier today, it was revealed that the 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering Widdecombe has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation.
On Friday, Devon and Cornwall Police said that a white British national had been arrested at an address in Newton Abbot, Devon.
Today, the force confirmed the man’s release from custody following his arrest.