Jamal Edwards: Steph's Packed Lunch pay tribute
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On Sunday evening, it was announced that Jamal Edwards had died at the age of 31. His mother and Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards has since released a statement that was shared on Good Morning Britain which revealed he’d died after a “short illness”. Meanwhile, Steph McGovern paid a sweet tribute to the late star with whom she had previously worked during Monday’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Opening up the programme, Steph began: “First, it’s quite a serious start to the show because I just want to pay tribute to Jamal Edwards who has died at the age of 31.
“Now, Jamal created a music channel called SBTV on YouTube and he did this when he was at school so he could help his mates get spotted in the music industry.
“And actually went on to help launch the careers of musicians like Ed Sheeran, Skepta and Jessie J.
“On top of all this, he did loads of charity work to help get kids into business with people in the music industry and I know him quite well,” she told Channel 4 viewers.
Steph recalled: “I’ve worked with him on a show called Pocket Money Pitch, which was like the Dragons’ Den for kids and so, he was one of the dragons and all the kids came on and had to pitch their ideas to him.”
Speaking about the CBBC show, the presenter gushed over Jamal’s kind nature, particularly with the former contestants which appeared on the programme.
She said: “And actually one of the parents messaged me this morning, saying that he’d kept in touch with the kids afterwards and one of the kids, who had cerebral palsy, got loads of support from him and was told never to feel different because [he would say], ‘You’re so special’.”
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall also paid tribute to his work as an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust.
They said they were thinking of his family, adding: “An incredible innovator and entrepreneur, Jamal Edwards MBE has been an inspiration for so many young people, through our work and beyond.”
Born in Luton, the young entrepreneur was appointed an MBE for services to music in 2014, an achievement that his mother had proudly spoken about on Loose Women.
In a statement, which had been read out by ITV host Susanna Reid on GMB, Brenda said: “It is with the deepest heartache that I confirm that my beautiful son Jamal Edwards passed away yesterday morning after a sudden illness.
“Myself, his sister Tanisha and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated.
“He was the centre of our world.”
She continued: “As we come to terms with his passing, we ask for privacy to grieve this unimaginable loss.
“I would like to thank everyone for their messages of love and support. Jamal was an inspiration to myself and so many.”
People who knew Jamal have flooded social media with support and shared their sympathies with his family during this heartbreaking time.
However, Loose Women co-star and close friend Charlene White was left in tears as she told ITV viewers the sudden announcement was “unfair” on his mother.
Before she began to read the statement, she fumed: “Brenda gave a statement this morning which I’ll read some of.
“The reason why I am going to read some of this is because the opportunity to share Brenda’s loss and the family’s loss was taken away from Brenda because of various people on social media.
“[They] decided to tell Brenda’s story and to tell Jamal’s story without consulting Brenda, which was not fair in any shape or form.”
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12:30pm
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