GEORGE Gilbey’s friends screamed at him to “get down” as he scaled a roof without a harness before his tragic death.
The Gogglebox star, 40, plummeted 80ft through a skylight on Wednesday, pals revealed.
George had been carrying out work on the roof of the Essex warehouse without a safety harness.
As his colleagues begged him to come down, the CBB star fell and landed on concrete below.
One pal said: “George had not been in a good way and maybe should not have been working at all. He was up on the roof and the others were shouting at him to get down and to be careful.
“He was shouting back that he was all right, even though he was not very steady on his feet.
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“Then, he apparently came through a skylight so fell from the outside of the roof about 80ft on to concrete inside. Poor George did not stand a chance and it is a terrible way to go.”
George was tragically declared dead at the EGL Homecare site in Shoebury, Essex, on Wednesday.
Police yesterday confirmed a man in his 40s had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
The colleague was held by cops in a joint investigation with health and safety officials.
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Essex Police said: “We have arrested a man in his 40s from the Witham area on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
“Our enquiries are ongoing.”
The horror came three years after stepdad Peter McGarry, who starred with him and mum Linda McGarry, 74, on Gogglebox, passed away from cancer.
George had also recently been trying to get his life back on track after months of drinking heavily, friends said.
He was due in court next month for allegedly assaulting an ex.
The reality star has a previous domestic violence conviction for attacking another ex, Gemma Conway, the mother of his daughter Amelie, now seven, and was jailed for drink-driving in 2019.
A friend said: “George was a lovely boy — but was like a leaf in the wind. He had spiralled a bit out of control.”
While another pal told The Sun: “Nobody deserves this to happen so young — 40 is no age. He had started going to the gym and working very hard to do well for his family.
“This will hit his family very hard, especially Linda. First, she lost Pete, now her son as well.
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“She is incredibly emotional. George was like her little treasure.
“He was a good bloke with a big heart who loved his family. He was a bit of a party lad, but he was good entertainment.”
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Daniel Hammond
