Kirk Norcross recalls heartbreaking moment he lay next to his dad’s body after finding him dead

Kirk opened up further on the day his dad died as he was announced as a new ambassador for the Papyrus charity (Pictures: Rex/Getty)

Kirk Norcross has remembered the heart-wrenching moment he lay next to the body of his father and promised ‘to do his best’ after thanking him ‘for everything he did’.

Kirk’s dad Mick took his own life last year aged 57, with his son being the one to discover his body and attempt to save his life through CPR.

The former The Only Way Is Essex star even revealed that he had gone on a five-day drink and drugs binge after the experience, before managing to get clean.

Kirk, 33, opened up about his ‘idol’ and ‘hero’ in a new interview as he was announced as a new ambassador for Papyrus, the prevention of young suicide charity.

Explaining that in ‘some ways I’m was pleased it was me’ who found his father’s body, the TV star also admitted it would be ‘etched in my mind for the rest of my life’.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘When I realised he’d passed, I lay next to his body, kissed him on the head and said, “Thank you for everything you did dad and sorry for all I have done. I promise I’ll do my best.”

Kirk with his dad Mick in 2015 (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Rex/Shutterstock)

‘I cuddled him for a while, run my fingers through his hair. I remember it was so soft. It was that moment he died I became a man. I knew I had to try and make him proud.’

Reflecting on the fact that the ‘one good thing’ to come from that day was the experience he now has to try and help people, he added: ‘I have 10 to 20 people message me a day saying they feel suicidal or feel depressed. I try my hardest to give them advice without giving them too much in case it might tip them over the edge.’

Describing his ambassadorship as ‘a real honour’, he also admitted that he ‘probably would not be here myself’ if it wasn’t for his children.

Kirk was one of the original Towie cast members and has previously opened up about his own battle with suicidal thoughts, sharing in an emotional interview on Loose Women in January that he had tried to end his life once, many years ago, because he ‘didn’t think I had a purpose then’.

The pair starred together on the early seasons of Towie (Picture: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)

He also broke down as he recalled the day of his dad’s death and detailed the severe trauma that stemmed from it, including a PTSD diagnosis.

The jet washing businessman emphasised the importance of speaking out if you’re struggling with your mental health, as his father had never given any warning that he was suicidal.

‘I live next to my father, I was with him the night before,’ Kirk revealed.

‘That morning, I was having my breakfast, and he did what he usually did, which was take a bit off my plate. And he was fine… that afternoon he killed himself’.

He pleaded to anyone experiencing mental health difficulties to seek help and not to take the same devastating path as his father, saying: ‘No one has to do that.

Kirk gave an emotional interview about the day his father died on Loose Women in January (Picture: Rex/ITV)

‘If you’ve ended a relationship, you can get another one, if you’ve lost all your money, you can get more money, if you’ve lost your job, you can get another job.’

An inquest into Mick’s death in July 2021 heard that financial concerns and deteriorating mood during the Covid-19 lockdowns contributed to the much-loved star’s death. 

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Kirk said in a statement read by the coroner: ‘During the first lockdown in March 2020 I really noticed my dad change.’

He added that Mick would sleep in longer in the mornings and it was ‘almost like he had a black cloud over his head’. 

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