Tara Palmer-Tomkinson Found Dead, Aged 45

Former TV presenter and socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has died at the age of 45, her body having been discovered at her home in West London.

The star, who found fame in the nineties and who was known for her party lifestyle, revealed to the world that she was battling a brain tumour. However, it is not yet known whether this was related to her cause of death, police sources told The Sun on Wednesday (February 8th).

“Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 13:40hrs on Wednesday, 8 February to an address in Bramham Gardens, SW5. A woman, aged in her forties, was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed.

“The death is being treated as unexplained. At this early stage, police are not treating the death as suspicious. Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. The Coroner has been informed.”

Palmer-Tomkinson was one of the first celebrities to develop their own ‘brand’, having made the jump from high society to celeb culture as it developed in the 1990s, known as the original ‘it girl’. Starting her career writing columns for The Mail on Sunday, GQ, The Sunday Times and The Spectator, she went on to present the likes of ‘GMTV’ and ‘Top of the Pops’.

She was romantically connected with a number of celebs in the nineties and was known for hedonistic lifestyle. Later in her career, she finished runner-up in the first ever series of ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’ back in 2002.

She revealed to the Daily Mail just three months ago that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumour at the start of 2016. “I went to the doctors to talk about my latest blood test results when I got back from skiing in January. I said, ‘What does this mean? Can you translate it?’ And the doctor said, ‘As I suspected, you have a brain tumour’.”

“I got terribly frightened,” she continued about how the diagnosis had changed her. “I started thinking, ‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to live’. Stuff like that. I’ve gone completely the other way. I’m a very quiet person now, and I like being that person. I have a better perspective on life.”

More: Tara Palmer-Tomkinson says no to more cosmetic surgery [archive]