Ben Duncan, a television personality and former college friend of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton, has died at age 45. Multiple British outlets reported that Duncan, who appeared on “Big Brother” in 2010, fell from a rooftop bar in London.
US Sun reported that the incident occurred on Thursday, October 30, at the Trafalgar St. James Hotel in Westminster. Duncan is believed to have fallen about 100 feet from the seventh-floor rooftop.
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed the tragedy in a statement, saying officers responded to “concerns for a man on the roof of a building in Cockspur Street.”
They added, “The man sadly fell from a height. Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance Service, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His death is unexpected but non-suspicious.”
Authorities Confirm the Tragic Incident
The London Ambulance Service also shared details of the emergency response. “We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, paramedics in fast response cars, and paramedics from our hazardous area response team,” they said in a statement, as per MyLondon.
Reports noted that the rooftop area had tall plastic safety screens around the edge, though the investigation into the exact circumstances continues.
From St Andrews to Reality TV Fame
As per the Daily Express, before becoming a reality television personality, Duncan attended the University of St Andrews, where he studied alongside Prince William and Kate. He was reportedly part of their social circle when the royal couple began dating.
Reflecting on that time during a 2010 interview, Duncan said (As reported by Daily Mail), “Because we’d had Will and Kate in our midst, we had royal protection officers swarming the place. We knew that they had hit it off and we knew that something was happening, but they were just left alone to get on with it.”
He also recalled the now-famous fashion show where Kate first caught William’s eye. “It was the end of their first year. I was there, and in person, there were a lot of attractive girls,” he said.
“She was in a very daring dress, in a sheer stocking-like dress. He was sitting in the front row and his eyes were like stalks. She brushed by him on the way to the catwalk and things were never the same again — the whole history of the monarchy had been altered.”
Reality TV Career & Life in the Public Eye
After his time at St Andrews, Duncan gained recognition as a contestant on “Big Brother” in 2010. He later appeared on other reality shows, including “Come Dine With Me,” “Ladette to Lady,” and “Celebrity Coach Trip.”
In an interview with Digital Spy that same year, Duncan reflected on his newfound fame. “Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago if my life had changed. And the thing is that I’ve never done a 9-to-5 job, so in many ways it hasn’t at all,” he said, as reported by US Weekly.
“Of course people now ask me for pictures and attention in the street, but I was always the sort of person who spoke to people in the street anyway. I’ve always liked parties and been on the London party scene, so that hasn’t changed. I pick and choose my events more carefully now, that’s one thing that has changed.”
Tributes have begun pouring in from those who knew him personally and through his television career. As of now, representatives for Prince William and Princess Kate have not publicly commented on his passing.
