It's rather sad that the BBC aren't owning up to their mistakes about sacking him before he was even charged with anything too.
I feel so sorry for Mark, and I am really gutted to hear that he killed himself, it was such a waste of talent, and from what has been said on here and other places, there wasn't much he could have done to stop his girlfriend dying, and it sounded like he felt terrible (obviously) after she died and couldn't cope.
It's rather sad that the BBC aren't owning up to their mistakes about sacking him before he was even charged with anything too.
Interesting, sure I read on their website yesterday that HE had resigned from SMArt after the death of his g/f because 'he needed to grieve' although the Beeb were never going to let him work for them again in truth were they? Sad to see that Auntie hasn't moved on from the days when Janet Ellis could get sacked from Blue Peter simply for being pregnant, and that the 'old sweep it under the carpet' or 'stick your head in the sand' policy still holds true for them.
I think that's a bit harsh on the Beeb to be honest. We have one NSC/P regular who works at the Beeb and I suspect that there is a casual drugs culture there. It certainly is at another TV station that I could mention!
What else could the Beeb do. If it doesn't sack him it would be BINFEST central that they are effectively condoning recreational coke use. You could get away with it in relation to something like Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but surely not for kiddy tv.
I think that's a bit harsh on the Beeb to be honest. We have one NSC/P regular who works at the Beeb and I suspect that there is a casual drugs culture there. It certainly is at another TV station that I could mention!
What else could the Beeb do. If it doesn't sack him it would be BINFEST central that they are effectively condoning recreational coke use. You could get away with it in relation to something like Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but surely not for kiddy tv.
Ouch. Wrong guy, but still...ouch
Hmmm, this has the makings of an entirely new (and rather distasteful) thread, titled Ironic Celebrity Deaths
Neil Buchanan: Art Attack
Tony Hart...er...Irregular Hartbeat
Jeremy Clarkson- motor neurone disease...
etc
A lot of people on this thread seem to very judgemental about depression and suicide in general.
Let me tell you my friends...it only takes a few things to go wrong in a short space of time within your own lives, and you could find yoursleves in a similar position.
Depression is an illness and it's not selective illness at that.
Maybe we can get over the stigma for a few moments, and feel a bit sorry for someone who felt they had to take their own life in a truly terrible situation.
*guilty sniggers*
Going back a few posts, regarding the question about whether people can be sectioned if they're suicidal, to actually section someone, they have to undergo a psychiatric assessment, which, as you can imagine with suicidal people, they're not generally keen to have.
The police have certain powers under S136 of the Mental Health Act, which decrees that if a person is in a public place, and appears to be suffering from a mental disorder, and it is apparent to a constable that they are in immediate need of care and control, they can be detained and taken, by force if necessary, to a place of safety.
The only approved 'places of safety' at the moment in Sussex are the police cells, which in practice means that the person is handcuffed, taken up to the custody centre, stuck in a cell until a mental health practitioner can come along and assess them, at which point the boffin almost always declares that no, they are not suffering from mental illness, and they are then released. To do the same again as soon as they get out...
It's a tough call- IMHO, someone feeling that bad about life isn't going to feel much better if you lock them up in a cell for fifteen hours, but on the other hand perhaps it will stop them, however temporarily, from topping themselves.
In reality (again) the vast majority of "suicidal" people I deal with are nothing of the sort, and have no intention of ending it all, as illustrated by the fact that they take overdoses or whatever, then call 999. They really do want the attention, sad though it is. There are far more self-harmers out there than you'd imagine. The occasional suicide I do go to- these people don't usually tell anyone, they just go quietly off and do it
It's an old adage- it really is the quiet ones you have to watch. If you ever have a mate who just goes off the radar and stops talking to everyone, he's the one you need to look out for.
*guilty sniggers*
Going back a few posts, regarding the question about whether people can be sectioned if they're suicidal, to actually section someone, they have to undergo a psychiatric assessment, which, as you can imagine with suicidal people, they're not generally keen to have.
The police have certain powers under S136 of the Mental Health Act, which decrees that if a person is in a public place, and appears to be suffering from a mental disorder, and it is apparent to a constable that they are in immediate need of care and control, they can be detained and taken, by force if necessary, to a place of safety.
The only approved 'places of safety' at the moment in Sussex are the police cells, which in practice means that the person is handcuffed, taken up to the custody centre, stuck in a cell until a mental health practitioner can come along and assess them, at which point the boffin almost always declares that no, they are not suffering from mental illness, and they are then released. To do the same again as soon as they get out...
It's a tough call- IMHO, someone feeling that bad about life isn't going to feel much better if you lock them up in a cell for fifteen hours, but on the other hand perhaps it will stop them, however temporarily, from topping themselves.
In reality (again) the vast majority of "suicidal" people I deal with are nothing of the sort, and have no intention of ending it all, as illustrated by the fact that they take overdoses or whatever, then call 999. They really do want the attention, sad though it is. There are far more self-harmers out there than you'd imagine. The occasional suicide I do go to- these people don't usually tell anyone, they just go quietly off and do it
It's an old adage- it really is the quiet ones you have to watch. If you ever have a mate who just goes off the radar and stops talking to everyone, he's the one you need to look out for.
hmm, seems odd that the bbc teletext still running with 'body yet to be formally identified',
tragic.