The grieving family of George Gilbey have been handed a boost by kind-hearted strangers after struggling to raise funds to cover the cost of the late Gogglebox star’s funeral.
George tragically plunged to his death while working on the roof of a warehouse in Essex last month.
A GoFundMe page was launched by a friend of the 40 year old’s family, but until tonight (April 10), it struggled to reach its target.
Funeral director Rob Barlow said he was asked by George’s heartbroken mum Linda McGarry to set up the fund.
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GoFundMe page launched to pay for funeral of George Gilbey
Rob – who works for a Clacton-based funeral director – launched the page earlier this month.
He wrote: “I know his passing has come to a shock for a lot of people. He was such a big character in life and is going to be sorely missed by friends, family and all who knew him. I think I can safely say we all enjoyed watching him on Gogglebox, Big Brother and all his other TV appearances.
The funeral date is still to be confirmed.
“Anything you can donate would be a great help to the family so thank you in advance.”
Rob added that any money left after the costs of funeral would be given to George’s eight-year-old daughter Amelie.
He continued: “The funeral date is still to be confirmed and will be updated in due course.”
‘Awful news’
The GoFundMe page has a target of £5,000. But when ED!’s story was originally published, it had only managed to hit £3,280.
However, as at 6pm, the target has now been met. A rep for GoFundMe said: “Enough money has now been raised for his funeral. There were worries enough hadn’t been raised in time. Donations have poured in today, taking the total amount raised to the goal needed.”
Geordie Shore star Ricci Guarnaccio, who became friends with George on Celebrity Big Brother, has praised the campaign.
He said: “It is amazing so many people are doing what they can to help, especially for Linda who is beside herself.
“The family were blindsided and she is understandably struggling to process the awful news.”
George’s mum: ‘I’m devastated’
Linda spoke for the first time on her son’s tragic death last week.
She told the Maldon & Burnham Standard: “I’m devastated. He was like my best friend and he had the best heart in the world. He was generous, funny and kind, with bundles of charm and buckets of personality.”
She added: “He did more in his 40 years than people do in 90.”
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