Barrymore to give evidence at inquest

Entertainer Michael Barrymore was expected to give evidence today at an inquest into the death of a man found floating in his swimming pool.

The inquiry heard yesterday how Barrymore was drunk and foul-mouthed on the night Stuart Lubbock went back to his luxury Essex home with other nightclub revellers for a party.

Barrymore, 50, who is homosexual, was heard by a taxi driver demanding sex as they drove home from the Millennium nightclub in Harlow, Essex.

Mr Lubbock, 31, who had two young daughters, died at the comic’s house in Roydon in the early hours of March 31 last year after meeting at the club.

The meat factory worker, described by his former partner as a “bubbly party-goer”, was found face down in the pool.

Despite efforts to save his life, he was pronounced dead in hospital about two hours later.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as drowning but pathologists have told the hearing in Epping that traces of cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol were found in his system.

Internal injuries were also discovered which may have resulted from a serious sexual assault, possibly with a large hard object, the inquest has been told.

Mr Lubbock’s ex-partner Claire Wickes and “on-off” girlfriend Karen Harris told the inquest yesterday that Mr Lubbock was not gay and would never have had a sexual relationship with a man.

He was described as a “ladies’ man” while Mr Lubbock’s brother Kevin said any suggestion that Stuart was homosexual was “unthinkable”.

He added: “It’s like saying the Pope don’t live in Rome.”

Both Kevin Lubbock and taxi driver Keith Herrett described how Barrymore looked intoxicated when they saw him the night Mr Lubbock died.

Mr Herrett told Essex and Thurrock coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray how Barrymore was walking drunkenly and slouched into the back seat of his car for the eight-minute journey from the club to his home, accompanied by two other men and a woman.

“Michael Barrymore was very badly the worse for wear,” said the cab driver. “It was my impression that he was in no fit state to do anything but sit in a chair and go to sleep.”

One of the people in the car called him a “scruffy bastard” while Mr Herrett said he had concerns for the celebrity’s safety.

The driver also told the hearing that he felt “uncomfortable” when Barrymore allegedly shouted: “I could do with a good f***.”

The inquest has been told that Mr Lubbock, from Harlow, may have died for a number of reasons, including cardiac arrest brought on by intoxication through a combination of drink and drugs.