Jeremy Beadle, the much-loved prankster who was responsible for shows such as Game For A Laugh, You've Been Framed, and Beadle's About, has died aged 59 - or has he?
The TV joker is said to have fallen into a coma after being admitted to hospital last week suffering from 'pneumonia'. His family say they were at his bedside as he passed away.
But it has been claimed that the star's death is, in itself, a prank, that this is just Beadle's latest and greatest piece of deception, and that he is, in fact, alive and well.
The stunt, it has been alleged, has been captured on film, and will be part of an hour-long Christmas special. But Beadle's long-time acquaintances have criticised those making the outlandish claims.
Brothers Matthew and Henry Kelly, who co-presented Game For A Laugh with Beadle, spoke as one yesterday in a moving tribute to the prankster, and condemned, what they both said was, a ridiculously unbelievable claim, "just like the sort of thing we used to ask the public to swallow every week".
In one of Beadle's most famous stunts, he was able to convince a Dorset housewife that an alien spaceship had landed in her back garden. In another, he made several million TV viewers believe that Noel Edmonds had talent.
Female co-presenter Sarah Kennedy, who is looking really old these days, paid tribute to Beadle, saying:
"Jeremy was a really wonderful friend and a true professional. He had a heart of gold. That knubby hand was a bit creepy, though."
Mr Beadle is expected to jump out of his coffin next week.
