Olly Murs breaks down on The Voice over Caroline Flack's tragic death
ITV The Voice judge Olly Murs sobbed as he admitted he believes he "could have done more" for his late friend Caroline Flack.
The 39-year-old turned his chair for contestant Sheridan Coldstream, after the 59-year-old covered a Billie Eilish song about suicide. Listen Before I Go features the lyrics "Call my friends and tell them that I love them, and I'll miss them. Sorry." The former suicide helpline volunteer has also worked as a confidence coach, but Olly didn't realise until he turned his chair around.
Olly said: "Obviously, I lost a good friend to suicide a few years back…" He choked back tears as Anne-Marie rushed to support him, with Olly saying he felt like he was destined to meet Sheridan.
Olly was overcome with emotion after the performance (ITV)The judge explained: "It's mad, actually, that you’ve walked into my life." He added: "Although I’m supposed to be coaching you, I think you’ll be coaching me." He left his chair to give Sheridan a hug.
Olly explained how the moment made him think he could have done more for Flack, who took her own life in February 2020 while she was due in court, charged with assaulting her boyfriend at the time, Lewis Burton. She was just 40 years old at the time, with the Be Kind campaign launched following her death.
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"It hit me," Olly continued. "I think there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t dealt with that I need to talk about. Sheridan walked into my life and maybe I need that.’"
Olly has previously revealed how the pair were due to meet up in 2019, but Caroline didn't show up, meaning he didn't get chance to see her before she died. He addressed their relationship on on Jessie Ware's podcast Table Manners, where he admitted they had a close bond, but didn't meet up much in the later years.
He said: "Caz was always the life and soul of the party. She’s dancing, she’s getting the drinks, she’s having fun." But Olly said his schedule was so busy that when he had spare time, he relaxed.In 2019, they had arranged for Caroline to go to his house for lunch, as Olly had just had knee surgery. He said: "I got a chef to come in. I couldn’t cook because I couldn’t move. And she never turned up."
Olly and Caroline were close friends (PA)
Olly was set to meet up with Caroline before she died (Getty Images Europe)He admitted he though it was "weird", but she replied hours later, saying: "'I’m really sorry Olly, something came up. I’m not feeling great. I’m really sorry. We’ll do it another time.'"
He said it didn't bother him, even when his girlfriend Amelia Tank showed him an article where Caroline was out the night before at an event.
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch
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