Ben Duncan appeared on Big Brother, alongside Josie Gibson, and died, aged 45, after falling from a rooftop bar that was 100ft above the ground
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Josie Gibson pays tribute to Big Brother co-star who died in 100ft fall(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Big Brother star Josie Gibson has paid tribute to co-star Ben Duncan following his death. The 45-year-old friend of Prince William fell from rooftop bar of a seven-storey building.
Both reality TV stars appeared on the eleventh series of Big Brother, and while Ben was evicted on day 52, Josie went on to win the show. She took to Instagram to share her sadness at his death.
“My heart goes out to Ben and his Family,” she wrote over a picture of Ben, with a headline about his death, reading “Big Brother star Ben Duncan dies aged 45 ‘after 100ft fall'”, underneath.
She added that she loved Ben and his “unique” sense of humour: “I love you Ben… one of the most unique, hilariously funny, dry whitted guys I know.”
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Josie Gibson shared an emotional tribute to Ben Duncan(Image: Instagram)
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He was a contestant on her series of Big Brother(Image: WireImage)
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Ben died on 30 October, aged 45, after falling from a rooftop of a seven-story building in the West End. The Metropolitan Police were dispatched to the Trafalgar St James hotel, where they found Ben.
They went there after they were alerted to reports of a ‘man on the roof’. But Duncan is thought to have fallen from the rooftop bar, which has high plastic screens around its edges as a safety feature, before they arrived.
As well as being on Big Brother, Ben was on Come Dine With Me and Celebrity Coach Trip. He was also a friend of Prince William at university, part of the inner circle when the prince started dating his future wife, Kate.
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Ben died on Thursday(Image: Getty Images)
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Josie won the series of Big Brother they were on(Image: PA)
Back in 2010, he revealed how he knew that William and Kate were going to get together. “Because we’d had Will and Kate in our midst we had royal protection officers swarming the place. We knew that they had hit it off and we knew that something was happening, but they were just left alone to get on with it.”
Alongside his royal connection, Duncan was friends with Lord Peter Mandelson, Michael Portillo and designer Nicky Haslam. One friend, broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, paid tribute to the Big Brother star. Writing on Facebook, he said: “My dear, dear friend Benjamin (Ben) Duncan has left us.
“He lived life as Peter Pan – the boy who never grew up. He will be sorely missed by his many, many friends, who grew to love his charm, his wit, his infectious laugh and his innate sense of style. The world is a poorer place for his passing. RIP Benji.”
