One Show producer pal of Graham Norton died tangled in shower hose ‘mystery’ after drinking games at house party
A ONE Show executive died in a freak incident after getting tangled in a shower chord at a country mansion, an inquest heard.
Charlie Mott, 25, had been playing drinking games with pals before he was mysteriously found entangled in a bathroom at the £2m five-bed manor.
He was fully-clothed slumped against the wall, an inquest in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire heard yesterday.
After arriving back at the five-bedroomed detached manor, the group spent the night playing classic drinking games - including 'Guess the Celebrity'.
Charlie was said to have been on "good form" making jokes and laughing, the coroner heard.
The hearing was told the broadcaster, who joined the BBC in 2018, had mood swings throughout the night, even telling a friend at the party that he hated himself.
One friend said in a statement to the inquest: "His moods were up and down with highs and lows but this was normal behaviour for Charlie.
“An hour or so before he was found, Charlie told me he hated himself and how unhappy he was."
In the early hours of August 23, a friend discovered Charlie’s body in the en suite bathroom with "a shower hose around his neck".
After screaming for help, the friends dialled 999 just after 4am and began CPR. Paramedics confirmed he had died at 4.54am.
A post-mortem found that Charlie had died from hanging.
During the party in Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks., it was believed Charlie had consumed up to eight pints before moving onto spirits and liqueurs.
Following his death, toxicologist John Slaughter confirmed that Charlie was more than double the drink-drive limit associated with "impairment of judgement and staggering".
A friend told the inquest: "We knew he was taking anti-depressants and at the party he went from happy to sad back to happy, but this was usual for Charlie.
“At around 2am, Charlie came into my room. He seemed to be aimlessly wandering."
Despite having been prescribed medication for depression a month before his death after he had "felt low for a couple of years."
Coroner Crispin Butler told the devastated family: "It is an unusual description, being found in the loop of the shower hose, not having constructed a ligature.
“That, combined with the intoxication, does create questions that we do not have the answers too."
The coroner added: "There is not a clear pathway that he positively took the action to do something in a clear-headed manner.
“His head was in the loop of the shower, constricted due to the weight of his body. I do not see it being intentional.
"One must not make assumptions based on engagement with the doctors or mood swings, the facts need to support it.
“We need to identify that he undertook an act with the intention that his life will end as a result.
"There is nothing that has been constructed, it seems possible that he stumbled into it in an intoxicated state and not understanding what was going on, he was not able to free himself.
“If you succumb to unconsciousness you will be unable to save yourself quite rapidly.
"It is all the more tragic as we do not fully understand the mechanics of what occurred.
“How Charlie became entangled in a shower hose - whether that was something he was intending or equally it happened by him stumbling into it and not being able to recover - is not known.
"Ultimately, the mechanics of how he came to be in the shower hose we do not know.";
Charlie had lived in London with his friend from university - where he had graduated from multimedia journalism.
He had previously worked with presenter Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show.
Following his death, One Show presenter Alex Jones fought back tears as she paid tribute to Charlie on air.
Closing the show on August 25, she told viewers: "Now, before we go, we just wanted to pay tribute to one of our colleagues, Charlie Mott, who sadly died at the weekend.
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"Everybody on the team is absolutely devastated. He was hugely talented and such good company.
“We miss him so much. Our thoughts are with his family and we are sending lots of love from all of us here."
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The coroner recorded an open verdict.
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