Noel Edmonds nearly quit TV after contestant died in 'darkest moment on prime-time'
dailystar.co.ukrecognisable names on UK television, having presented various shows including Deal or No Deal and Top of the Pops.But, despite amassing an estimated net worth of £73million, Noel has also struggled with failure, and saw his entertainment company collapse in 2005.READ MORE: Noel Edmonds' life - This Morning row, Deal or No Deal romance and company collapseNow, a new Channel 5 documentary, Noel Edmonds: The Rise & Fall of Mr Saturday Night has examined another tragic event on one of the star’s early TV shows that nearly ended the presenter’s career.One of Edmonds' first huge projects was the Late Late Breakfast Show, where viewers took part in dangerous stunts, often driving cars at high speeds and jumping them over long lines of parked vehicles.During the recording of one episode, viewer Michael Lush, who was recruited to bungee jump from a box suspended 120ft in the air by a crane, died when a clip came loose and he fell to the ground.Speaking on the documentary, Nick Ferrari, who was showbiz editor of The Sun newspaper at the time, described how the incident had come to happen.“One of the more popular segments was ‘Give it a Whirl’.
Viewers at home could phone in and nominate someone, and the viewer with the stunt selected was given a week to do a film stunt, but more often than not the training only lasted a few days,” he explained.“When you study the footage it’s quite incredible how this was ever permitted, and it’s dealt with in such a jocular fashion.”And, looking back on the shocking day that the news broke, Nick described how he had been informed that a tragedy had occurred before phoning the presenters to confirm the news.“Noel Edmonds was a massive name.
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