A body found in a remote area of Paddington station is believed to be that of missing TV presenter Mark Speight police have said. The SMart presenter was reported missing last Monday, three months after the death of his fiancée, Natasha Collins. Mr Speight's relatives have been informed of the discovery, police said, and a formal identification will take place later today. At the moment officers are treating the death as "unexplained" but have confirmed they will be carrying out a post-mortem examination later to discover the cause of death, but they have said he wasn't hit by a train.
The presenter, missing for nearly a week, was said to be devastated by the death of fiance Natasha in January. Speight found the 31-year-old dead in the bath with 60% burns to her body and toxicology reports found cocaine, sleeping tablets and alcohol in her system. Speight was arrested at the time on suspicion of murder and supplying class A drugs but all charges were dropped. Friends were said to have been concerned about the presenter's state of mind since.
Tributes have flooded in since news of the tragic story broke. Mark's father, Oliver, said, "Mark was a wonderful son and brother to his family and he will be very sadly missed." A spokesman for the BBC said, "This is very sad news and our thoughts and sympathies are with Mark's family and friends. Mark was a hugely talented and very popular presenter for many years." Jan Kennedy, a spokewoman from Mark's agents, Billy Marsh Associates, said, "Caring and compassionate in everything he did, Mark was truly gifted in life and we are proud to have represented him as a friend and client for almost 20 years."
