Father's tribute to Speight one year on
The father of Wolverhampton children's television presenter Mark Speight has spoken of his "beautiful son" on the first anniversary of his death.
The father of Wolverhampton children's television presenter Mark Speight has spoken of his "beautiful son" on the first anniversary of his death.
Oliver Speight said there had been an outpouring of love and grief from both children and adults following his 42-year-old son's suicide by hanging at Paddington railway station in west London in April last year. He went missing a year ago today and his body was found six days later.
The popular BBC SMart art show presenter, who was a former pupil at Tettenhall's Regis High School, had taken his life after he had been "devastated" by the drug-related death of his 31-year-old fiancee Natasha Collins months earlier.
Speaking to promote SP8 of the Art - the Mark Speight Foundation, set up in his son's memory to foster artistic skill and talent in children, Mr Speight, 71, who lives in Sutton Coldfield, spoke of the "sense of purpose" he had gained since his son's death.
He also revealed that he had rung his son on his mobile the day before had taken his life to find out how he was.
He had known his son was "really down" and during the course of the conversation, he said, he had started to "lift him" and eventually "picked him up."
Mark's last words to him were "It's okay dad, fine, see you", he said.
He also described the day the news of the discovery of his son's body was broken to him by a police liaison officer.
"There was a knock on the door and I knew, and I looked at him, and I knew in his face, he did not say anything. I said 'you have found him haven't you?' and he said 'yes' and I said 'he is dead isn't he?' and he said yes.
He said his son's actions had been "courageous" - regardless of whether it was right or wrong - but he thought "what a pity he could not pick the phone up".
"I would like to have had a chat to him, I would like to have been there really, to hold his hand, to talk him out of it," he said.
Mr Speight, a property developer, said his "dream" was to open the Mark Speight School of Art and Entertainment in London in memory of his "beautiful son".
He said: "Everybody recognises that we are not going to stop until we achieve our goal, we are going to smash down every door that stands in our way, in three years, I want this to be the biggest artistic children's charity in Britain."
