Gyles Brandreth says he blames himself for the death of Rod Hull, who died in 1999 when he fell from the roof of his home while attempting to adjust his television aerial.

The 63-year-old entertainer was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital with a coroner later recording a verdict of accidental death.

Speaking to John Cleese on the latest episode of his Rosebud podcast, Brandreth said: “I killed a man – it was Rod Hull, the emu man.”

The 76-year-old former GMB presenter went on to explain he had been at the theatre with Hull on the day of his death, a day he said was blighted by “terrible, terrible weather”.

Brandreth went on: “He was sitting next to me, and he was complaining all through the show – he was interrupting the show almost – going on about how he wanted to get home because he wanted to watch the football, but his Sky aerial wasn’t transmitting properly.

“And I said, ‘Don’t moan about it, if you want to watch the television get a ladder out, climb on to the roof, and fix it Rod’.”

He went on to describe Hull’s accident, saying: “And after the show, in this stormy weather, he went home, he got out a ladder, he climbed the ladder, and he tried to fix the aerial.

“Unfortunately, the wind was very great, and he fell backwards off the ladder and killed himself.”

Brandreth said that while he wasn’t present at the time of the accident, he felt he’d “encouraged” him to climb on the roof.

Brandreth also explained how Hull had surprised those who attended his funeral with a pre-planned skit featuring his famous puppet.

‘That bloody bird’

Brandreth said: “It was a great funeral though because at his funeral the coffin came in, and as the coffin was being carried in, it was a sort of [knock, knock, knock].

“He’d arranged a beak sound to be inside the coffin as though the emu was also in the coffin.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Hull and Emu first found fame on an Australian children’s TV show, before returning to the UK to establish their act.

Emu famously attacked talk show host Michael Parkinson in 1976, with only a threat from Billy Connolly keeping the puppet under control for the rest of the show. With the moment becoming one of Parkinson’s most memorable moments, he would later refer to the itinerant puppet as “that bloody bird!”.

Read more:
Britney Spears says paramedics turned up ‘illegally’
Gavin & Stacey to return for ‘last ever episode’

Their popularity peaked in the late 1970s and 1980s, getting their own shows first on the BBC, then ITV, and a later animated follow-up – Rod ‘n’ Emu – on CITV in 1991.

Brandreth, who was previously a Conservative MP for the City of Chester, also said he “killed Harry Secombe”, describing how he had just completed a phone interview with the Welsh actor when he “fell and slipped backwards down the stairs, and a few days later he died”.

Secombe, who was a member of the radio comedy troop The Goon Show, died in 2001 aged 79.

Britney Spears has downplayed concerns about her health, after paramedics were called to the Chateau Marmont, a boutique hotel in LA.

The 42-year-old singer shared several posts on social media, addressing the incident in the early hours of Thursday morning at the luxury venue on Sunset Boulevard.

Photographs taken by paparazzi appeared to show Spears wearing pyjama shorts outside the hotel, while wrapped in a blanket and clutching a pillow.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Spears wrote: “Just to let people know… the news is fake!!!,” adding, “I am getting stronger every day!!!”

She went on to detail an injury she had suffered that night, writing: “I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally. They never came in my room but I felt completely harassed. I’m moving to Boston.”

In a later post, she shared a short video showing her swollen ankle, saying: “I really twisted my ankle last night… It’s so bad… F****** idiot here tries to do a leap here in the living room at the Chateau and I fell, embarrassed myself, and that’s it.

“Paramedics came to my door, illegally, and of course caused this scene, which was so unnecessary, when all it needed was ice. But yeah, it is actually pretty bad.”

Spears is now “safe and at home”, two sources close to Spears told NBC News.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department did not identify Spears as the subject of a 911 call at the Chateau Marmont but confirmed paramedics were dispatched to the hotel Thursday morning after a report that an adult female had been injured.

The call was received at 12.42am according to the spokesman, Brian Humphrey.

Humphrey said it was unclear if paramedics encountered the person who had reportedly been injured or offered medical help.

No law enforcement was summoned to the address and paramedics left at 1.17am, Humphrey said.

He said the LAFD has no immediate comment on the claims Spears made in her social media post.

The incident comes in the week Spears’s divorce from Sam Asghari was finalised. The former couple – who were married for just 14 months – recently filed paperwork, indicating they had reached a divorce settlement.

Meanwhile, it was announced last week that Spears had also reached a settlement with her father about her controversial 13-year conservatorship which ended in late 2021.

Late last year, Spears released a tell-all memoir – The Woman In Me – giving insight into her stage career, her relationship with Justin Timberlake, friendships with stars including Madonna and Paris Hilton, and her breakdown in 2007.

Sky News has contacted Britney Spears’s representatives for comment.

Hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey will return for its “last ever episode” on Christmas Day, James Corden has announced.

Corden posted a picture on his Instagram of himself and co-creator Ruth Jones holding a script.

The text on its cover reads: “Gavin & Stacey: the finale. Written by James Corden and Ruth Jones 2024.”

In the caption, Corden added: “Some news…It’s official!”

“We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin & Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James.”

The series, which is primarily filmed in South Wales, first aired in 2007 and lasted for three series, before returning for a special in 2019.

The comedy follows the blossoming romance of Gavin Shipman (Matthew Horne) and Stacey West (Joanna Page). Shipman is from Essex and West is from Barry in Wales.

Corden and Jones appear as their respective best friends Smithy and Nessa.

Nessa’s catchphrase – “what’s occurring?” – is one of many widely quoted lines from the programme.

Other well-known actors in the cast include Rob Brydon, Melanie Walters, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb.

A Christmas Day return for the series had been rumoured earlier this year after reports in US media.

Jones had previously denied the claims, but now the show’s comeback has been officially confirmed.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The last special ended on a cliffhanger as audiences eagerly awaited Smithy’s response to Nessa’s marriage proposal.

The 2019 special was watched by around 18 million viewers.