The mother of Gogglebox star George Gilbey has revealed his last words to her were “I love you”.

Gilbey died after falling through a plastic skylight while fixing a warehouse roof in Essex in March.

The 40-year-old appeared alongside his mum, Linda McGarry, and stepdad on the hit Channel 4 show.

The family first appeared on the second series of Gogglebox in 2013 but were dropped the following year when Gilbey signed up for the 14th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2014, reaching the final.

Mrs McGarry said she spoke to him on the phone hours before his death.

She told The Sun: “He phoned me at 9.30 in the morning and said he was working – and asked me for his ‘breakfast money’.

“I put £30 in his account so he could get food, and he seemed fine.

“He had a drink the night before, and liked a bottle of white wine or two, but was happy that he was working. He ended the phone call by saying, ‘I love you’ like he usually did. I treasure those words.”

She added: “It was an honour for him to have been my son. We had a blast for 40 years.”

Mrs McGarry said her son had struggled with the death of his dad, stepfather and her own Parkinson’s diagnosis.

At the time of his death, he was working to save money to move closer to his seven-year-old daughter, Amelie, in southwest London.

“He wanted to be with Amelie, who he adored,” she told The Sun.

“They were on the third day of a job that was going to last a month, and he was going to get money together from that.

“When they were together, George and Amelie were always laughing. She is going to miss him terribly, like we all will.”

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Gilbey suffered traumatic injuries to his head and torso and died at the scene in Shoeburyness.

An inquest was opened last week but suspended after a request from police pending a criminal investigation.

A man in his 40s from the Witham area of Essex was previously arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter

He was later released under investigation.

One of the government officials caught up in the Partygate scandal which engulfed Boris Johnson’s premiership is playing a key role in negotiating the future of The Daily Telegraph.

Sky News can reveal that former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara is among the advisors to RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle whose acquisition of the broadsheet newspaper has effectively been blocked by the government in recent weeks.

Ms MacNamara, who was among those given fixed-penalty notices by police for attending lockdown parties in Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic, is working at Robey Warshaw, which is acing for RedBird IMI on its options for the onward sale of the media assets.

Her role at Robey Warshaw, where George Osborne, the former chancellor, is a partner, has not previously been disclosed, but sources close to the Telegraph process confirmed that she was actively involved in the discussions.

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Robey Warshaw has become one of the City’s most successful merger and takeover advisers since it was established by Sir Simon Robey, widely regarded as the most successful British investment banker of his generation.

Ms MacNamara was a highly regarded government official before leaving Whitehall in February 2021.

Among her roles, she served for more than a decade at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – the same ministry responsible for ruling on the fate of The Daily Telegraph as RedBird IMI negotiates over the structure of an auction expected to kick off within weeks.

Her reputation was, however, tainted by last year’s report by Sue Gray – a senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office who is now a key member of Sir Keir Starmer’s team – which concluded that Ms MacNamara had brought a karaoke machine to a leaving party which was prohibited under social distancing rules at the time.

During the Covid inquiry, it emerged that she had been the subject of misogynistic messages sent by Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s top aide, to the then prime minister.

After leaving the civil service, Ms McNamara joined the Premier League, where she ran its policy and corporate affairs functions before stepping down after just two years.

She is understood to have been working at Robey Warshaw for several months.

Ms MacNamara is no longer bound by restrictions imposed by Whitehall’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Her involvement in the Telegraph process adds to the number of politically connected figures who are embedded in talks about the fate of the traditionally Conservative-supporting newspaper.

As well as Mr Osborne, that list includes Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, who has been advising the Telegraph’s long-standing owners, the Barclay family.

Sky News revealed earlier this month that RedBird IMI and the DCMS were discussing amendments to the statutory instrument which dictates various elements of the Telegraph’s governance during the period in which the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle holds a call option that was supposed to convert into ownership of the Telegraph and Spectator magazine.

An announcement about a workable structure could be made in the coming days, the Financial Times reported last week.

RedBird IMI is understood to believe that The Spectator could be worth £100m or more as a ‘trophy asset’ but that that valuation would be impaired if the magazine is sold in the same transaction as the newspapers.

Earlier this month, Sky News revealed that Raine Group, best-known in Britain for its roles in recent deals involving Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs, and Robey Warshaw were being lined up to advise on the next phase of the Telegraph’s ownership.

RedBird IMI, which is part-owned by US-based RedBird and majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s IMI – which is backed by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan – had argued that fears about its ownership of the Telegraph were unfounded.

The deal faced vehement opposition from Telegraph journalists and Conservative politicians from both houses of parliament.

RedBird IMI had sought to defuse controversy over the deal by offering legally binding assurances over editorial freedom, and in January restructured its bid to incorporate a new UK holding company which would own the Telegraph titles and Spectator magazine.

The takeover was rendered impossible, however, by the government’s adoption of legislative changes to prevent any ownership of British national newspapers by investors connected to foreign states.

Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has said she is minded to refer the RedBird IMI takeover of the Telegraph titles to an in-depth inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The fate of the Telegraph has been up in the air for almost a year after Lloyds Banking Group seized control of its parent companies after the Barclays fell behind on debt repayments.

Since then, a number of bidders including the Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere and the GB News shareholder Sir Paul Marshall have shown an interest in buying the titles.

Sky News revealed this month that Sir Paul was stepping down from the board of the parent company of GB News, the television news channel he has helped to bankroll, as he prepares a fresh bid for the Telegraph.

A trio of independent directors of the Telegraph’s holding company were parachuted in by Lloyds Banking Group last year after the lender seized control of the newspapers from their long-standing owners, the Barclay family.

However, the sale process was pre-empted by RedBird IMI repaying £1.16bn of loans owed by the Barclays to Lloyds, with £600m used to purchase the call option and the remainder as a loan secured against other family assets, including the online retailer Very Group.

Earlier this year, the independent directors appointed to oversee the sale of The Daily Telegraph were warned by Ms Frazer that the removal of the newspaper’s two most senior executives breached a government order – and that any subsequent transgression could result in a multimillion pound fine.

RedBird IMI, Robey Warshaw and the DCMS declined to comment.

Humza Yousaf has announced he is standing down as Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader.

Here are some of the potential contenders who could step up to lead the country.

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KATE FORBES

Kate Forbes narrowly lost out to Mr Yousaf in last year’s SNP leadership contest.

The former finance secretary faced backlash during her campaign after admitting she would have voted against gay marriage in Scotland when it was made legal a decade ago.

The Free Church of Scotland member also told Sky News that having children out of marriage is “wrong” and something she would “seek to avoid”.

However, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch stressed that “in a free society you can do what you want”.

Ms Forbes had argued that “continuity won’t cut it”.

After losing to Mr Yousaf by 48% to 52%, she said: “If we are to continue to win elections, we need to continue to listen and maintain trust.”

Ms Forbes turned down the role of rural affairs minister, which at the time was seen as a demotion.

Although her views on social issues remain unpopular with some of her MSP colleagues, she was one of the few SNP ministers who did not delete her WhatsApp messages during the COVID pandemic.

Ms Forbes would face resistance from the Scottish Greens, who have previously ruled out working with her.

STEPHEN FLYNN

Stephen Flynn replaced Ian Blackford as the SNP’s Westminster leader in December 2022.

The Aberdeen South MP was touted as a potential future party leader by Joanna Cherry MP.

Ms Cherry praised his leadership, noting he was “tolerant” of opposing views and committed to addressing division within the SNP.

As he is not an MSP, that could block his chances of becoming first minister at Holyrood.

NEIL GRAY

Former journalist Neil Gray is Holyrood’s health secretary. He was promoted to the role in February after Michael Matheson resigned following a scandal involving an £11,000 iPad data roaming bill.

Mr Gray, the MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, previously served as an MP between 2015 and 2021 before making the switch from Westminster to Holyrood.

Mr Gray, who served as Mr Yousaf’s campaign manager in the SNP leadership contest, was previously the cabinet secretary for wellbeing economy, fair work and energy, and before that the minister for culture, Europe and International Development.

JENNY GILRUTH

Jenny Gilruth, Holyrood’s education secretary, is a former modern studies teacher and is married to ex-Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.

The SNP MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes was a junior minister in Nicola Sturgeon’s government.

She was promoted from transport secretary to cabinet secretary for education and skills after Mr Yousaf took charge in March 2023.

Ms Gilruth is seen to be ambitious but was recently criticised by Scotland’s largest teaching union for failing to read its damning report on violence in Aberdeen schools.

SHONA ROBISON

Shona Robison could fancy her chances as Scotland’s leader following her stint as deputy first minister under Mr Yousaf.

Ms Robison, the finance secretary, has been the MSP for Dundee City East since 2003 and is a close friend of former first minister Ms Sturgeon.

She has previously held the post of health secretary, and as cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government was behind Holyrood’s efforts to pass the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Following the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement, Ms Robison may face a challenge to hold onto her position if the SNP wish to replace those at the top of the chain in an effort to start afresh.

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JOHN SWINNEY

John Swinney stood down as deputy first minister following Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation in 2023.

The former SNP leader, who resigned from that post in 2004 following poor European parliament election results, could be tempted to once again step into the spotlight following his year on the backbenches.

He ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race, citing that he had to put his young family first.

The MSP for Perthshire North, who was finance secretary under Alex Salmond’s government, has the experience to hold the fort following Mr Yousaf’s departure.

MAIRI MCALLAN

Mairi McAllan is a rising star within the SNP.

The MSP for Clydesdale was a special adviser to Ms Sturgeon and is now the wellbeing economy, net zero and energy secretary.

She faced a storm of criticism earlier this month after announcing the scrapping of the Scottish government’s key climate change target.

At the age of 31, Ms McAllan would become the youngest first minister.

As she is expecting her first child, with maternity leave expected to kick in during the summer until March 2025, it seems unlikely she will run for the top job.