A RuPaul's Drag Race star from County Durham died by suicide after struggling with fame, an inquest was told.
George Ward, known by the alter-ego and drag name Cherry Valentine, was found hanged in his North London flat by his friend in September. The 28-year-old, who was a qualified mental health nurse, had been "struggling" with fame after appearing on the BBC Three programme, an inquest heard.
George, who was from Darlington and had helped the NHS with vaccinations once the Covid pandemic hit, also starred in his own BBC documentary in 2022, titled Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud. The documentary showed his return to the Traveller community after rekindling his relationship with his family who he said had "disowned" him when he first came out.
Read more: Drag Race UK's Cherry Valentine dies aged 28 as Darlington star's family break tragic news
The Mirror Online reports that George's flatmate and friend Kate said in a post-mortem report that she had noticed differences in his sleeping pattern ahead of his death. The report said: "[Kate] stated that he seemed normal but recently noticed that he had been sleeping late and getting up late. The subject was a successful drag queen, and [his friend] believes he had been struggling with his rise to fame after being on RuPaul's Drag Race.
"[Kate] also said [Ward]'s ex-partner had recently got engaged. [The friends] would regularly chat about their struggles, but [Kate] believed that Ward's extravagant behaviour was a mask. [Ward] previously suffered from depression… this is something he has battled with."
Kate had been at a concert on September 18 2022 before she returned to the flat, the hearing was told. She called 999 after finding a clothes rack blocking his bedroom door and a note telling her not to enter. Paramedics arrived but were unable to revive him and he was declared dead at the scene. Three pages of A4 notes were found in his room, with one addressed to Kate and the other two to family and other people, the inquest heard.
Assistant Coroner Dr Peter Straker recorded a verdict of suicide.
George's family shared a tribute to him at the hearing, which read: "As his family, we are still processing his death and our lives will never be the same. We understand how much he is loved and how many lives he has inspired and touched. We love you Georgie.”
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