The 999 call reporting the death of a man found in a swimming pool at the home of entertainer Michael Barrymore has been released for the first time.
The audio recording is part of Channel 4’s documentary Barrymore: The Body In The Pool, which explores the unexplained death of 31-year-old Stuart Lubbock in 2001.
In the call, which includes swearing, a man is heard saying: “A fella has drowned in the pool.
“We have got them out.”
He tells the emergency services: “There’s a party going on and someone has just gone out and found him.”
He goes on: “I tell you what mate, the first time I’ve been out in four f****** years, I have me kids every weekend, and f****** hell.
“You don’t expect it do you?”
“I think the geezer’s dead mate,” he adds.
Barrymore was one of the UK’s best-known TV presenters when the body of Mr Lubbock was found at his then home in Roydon, Essex.
Last year Barrymore spoke about the death, telling Piers Morgan’s ITV show Life Stories that he is “100% innocent”.
The entertainer was arrested in 2007 but never charged with any offence.
He later sued Essex Police claiming wrongful arrest which he said had cost him about £2.5 million in lost earnings, but Court of Appeal judges concluded Barrymore would be entitled to only “nominal” damages.
Barrymore: The Body In The Pool airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.