The stars of Loose Women have rallied round their friend and colleague Brenda Edwards following the death of her son Jamal Edwards.
Jamal, who helped launch the careers of Stormzy, Dave, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J through his SB.TV music platform, died on Sunday morning at the age of 31.
On Monday, Brenda shared that Jamal had died after a “sudden illness” in a statement posted on the official Loose Women Twitter account.
Charlene White, who regularly helms the ITV daytime show, said Jamal had “changed the game forever” adding that there were “no words” to describe her heartbreak.
“Your light shone so brightly that it touched so many of us, impacted the lives of many more, and changed the game forever,” she tweeted.
“And, you are my Brenda’s son. There are no words to describe her heartbreak, our heartbreak, now that your light has gone. Sometimes life is terribly unfair.”
Ruth Langsford said the Loose Women would “wrap our arms around” their “darling friend” Brenda in an Instagram post shared on Monday.
“My heart is breaking for my friend @brendaedwardsglobal after the loss of her amazing son Jamal yesterday,” Ruth wrote.
“I can only imagine her unbearable pain. Grief is the price we pay for love. The @loosewomen will wrap our arms around her and try to fill her with all the strength we have. My condolences and love to you my darling friend, Tanisha and all your family. RIP Jamal. X”
Regular Loose Women panellist Denise Welch described Jamal, who appeared on Loose Women alongside his mum in November last year, as “a wonderful son and brother” on Twitter.
“My heart aches for my friend Brenda. I can’t bear it,” she added.
Loose Women host Christine Lampard described Jamal as a “remarkable young man” in a post shared on Twitter.
Katie Piper, who also appears on the long-running talk show, said her “thoughts and prayers” were with Brenda and her family.
Former Loose Women star Saira Khan interrupted her family holiday to post a statement on her Instagram Live, saying she was “devastated” for her former Loose Women colleague.
“I have just heard the heartbreaking news that @jamaledwards has died. I am devastated for @brendaedwardsglobal and send her and her whole family my prayers and deepest sympathies.”
She continued: “I met @jalamedewards whilst filming a children’s show and was struck by his humility and passion to help kids to believe in their talents.
“R.I.P young man. You were a bright shining light here on earth. Now you will shine brightly in the sky.”
Mo Gilligan, Adam Deacon and the official MOBO Twitter account were among those also paying tribute to Jamal on social media.
Jamal was a teenager when he launched the youth broadcasting and production film channel SB.TV to upload clips he had recorded of his friends performing on the estate where he lived in Acton, west London.
He was also an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a charity headed by the Prince of Wales, and in 2014 he was awarded an MBE for his services to music.
Speaking to PA after being made an MBE, he said he started SB.TV to give his friends a platform.
He said: “It was a frustration of going to school and everyone talking about ‘how do we get our videos on MTV’.
“YouTube was like a year old. I was like ‘I’ve got a camera for Christmas, I’m going to start filming people and uploading it’.