Legendary Big Brother narrator Marcus Bentley recalls reaction to iconic David’s Dead moment: ‘I was gobsmacked’

The voice of Big Brother, Marcus Bentley, has recalled his reaction to watching what has probably become the most iconic moment in the history of reality television.

That’s right, we’re talking about ‘David’s Dead’.

For the uninitiated, back in 2016, the death of David Bowie somehow lead to reality TV gold, when housemate Tiffany Pollard mistakenly thought her Celebrity Big Brother co-star David Gest had died overnight while he was asleep in the bedroom (where his ‘body’ remained).

Bowie’s ex-wife Angie Bowie had been living in the house with the likes of Gemma Collins and Darren Day at the time, when she was told the Space Oddity singer had died.

After hearing the news for the first time, she left the Diary Room and confided in Tiffany, perhaps the only person on earth who would confuse Bowie with their housemate Gest, who had coincidentally fallen unwell the night before and was sleeping in his bed.

As Tiffany collapsed on the floor, overwhelmed with grief, Angie tried to calm her down, asking her to please keep this information to herself, but she couldn’t resist and hysterically burst into the garden declaring that Gest was dead and Angie was trying to keep it from the the other housemates.

Obviously, chaos followed, with Angie being confronted instead of consoled, as the housemates tried to figure out what had actually happened before Darren unveiled a sleeping Gest (who was tucked under the covers like a corpse in a morgue – but still very much alive) and exclaimed: ‘You’re not dead!’

Hours before the scene made television history, narrator Marcus watched the comedy unfold and in an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk, recalled his reaction.

‘The beauty of Big Brother is, it’s all about the housemates. I know we shove housemates in a house and we film them 24/7 and at times they get a little bit claustrophobic and moments arise, but it’s all relatively organic,’ he told us.

‘It’s left to evolve, yes we have tasks and manipulation to a certain point from Big Brother in the diary room, but it’s just left to happen, so anything can happen.

‘When David’s Dead happened, I remember obviously it happened the evening before, and I got a call the next morning saying, “Marcus, you’ll never believe what’s happened. Get in soon, because this has happened,” and I went, “Give over”.

‘When I actually got into work, I couldn’t wait to get to work, and [when they] closed the door, closed the set as it were, and pressed play, I was absolutely gobsmacked.’

Marcus, who has since gone on to narrate other programmes and is now voicing Sky Kids programme Mittens and Pants, also shared his excitement as the beloved reality series’ revival has been announced.

After five years off air, Big Brother is set to return to our screens later this year with a brand new home on ITV2.

Marcus, who admitted working on Mittens and Pants has become his second-favourite ever project, said: ‘I was so excited.

‘It’s such a big juggernaut of a programme and such a part of popular culture.’

‘I think the public were absolutely gagging for it to come back,’ he added.

While Marcus has yet to be confirmed as narrator for the revival, he continued, about the series returning: ‘I just got goosebumps, because obviously it means a lot to me, and I’m a massive Big Brother fan, and I was just so excited.

‘The news was just what I was waiting for, so yeah, very excited.’

Sky Original Mittens and Pants, narrated by Marcus Bentley, will air on February 18 on the brand new Sky Kids TV channel and streaming service NOW. 

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