Mark Wright has shared an emotional tribute to his beloved grandfather Eddie following his death at the age of 92.
Mark, 37, who is expecting his first child with wife Michelle Keegan, 37, took to Instagram to share a sweet throwback snap with his ‘biggest supporter’ Eddie and vowed to continue making his grandfather proud.
On Tuesday a representative for Mark confirmed that Eddie passed away ‘peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones.’
In a lengthy caption, Mark penned: ‘For 37 years that I have known you Grandad, I wondered and even asked you when I was a little boy numerous times “when do you think you will go to heaven” I posed this question often, because I dreaded it so much.
‘I’ve had messages from hundreds of people, some I haven’t seen in over 20 years. EVERY message has the same words written in some way. GENTLEMAN – KIND – LEGEND!! All these things you were and more.
‘You loved your family so much and your biggest success is how close we all are and how many of us there is.’
Mark Wright has shared an emotional tribute to his beloved grandfather Eddie following his death at the age of 92
Mark, 37, who is expecting his first child with wife Michelle Keegan , 37, took to Instagram to share a sweet throwback snap with his ‘biggest supporter’ Eddie and vowed to continue making his grandfather proud
Mark continued: ‘You never got angry, you backed us no matter what, you never said no, even when I asked you to come on my stag do in Vegas at 83 (you still hold the record for the only person ever to order a cup of tea in a Vegas nightclub at 2am) If you told us off for being little shits growing up, you’d apologise.
‘You waved us off from the window every time we left your house & even 3 hours before you fell asleep forever, short of breath & not much energy left, you uttered the words “I’ll come down and see you off son” that sums you up, you put EVERYONE first.
‘You made everyone feel so special and left a lasting impression on everyone I know. My friends love you, my wife loves you and everyone you met loves you. Grandad you can never be replaced because you was 1 in a million, but we can make sure your legacy lives on.
‘I will continue to be the gentleman you taught me to be, will look after Nanny and continue to make you proud as 1 thing is for sure, you were my biggest supporter.’
He finished the message with an emotional goodbye: ‘Thank you grandad for everything. I’m so grateful I got to love you, be your mate, that you was my teacher, my boxing coach, my taxi driver, my idol, MY GRANDAD EDDIE you legend I LOVE YOU FOREVER’
A spokesperson for the former TOWIE star confirmed the sad news to MailOnline on Tuesday, with the statement: ‘Mark’s grandad passed away last night. He passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones.’
Mark’s paternal grandfather Eddie was a former champion boxer and was last year hospitalised after a fall.
Mark’s father Big’ Mark Wright, shared a photo of his dad on Instagram at the time and wrote: ‘Happy fathers day to the best unfortunately in hospital at the moment after a fall a couple of days ago but dad I’m on my way up to see you now keep strong xxx’.
Mark’s paternal grandfather Eddie was a former champion boxer and passed away on Monday night (pictured together in 2019)
In a lengthy caption, Mark penned: ‘For 37 years that I have known you Grandad, I wondered and even asked you when I was a little boy numerous times “when do you think you will go to heaven” I posed this question often, because I dreaded it so much.’
Mark’s wife Michelle reshared the post to her Instagram Stories and wrote: ‘Grandad Eddie… a gentleman in every sense of the word.’
Eddie had been part of the Wright family limelight over the years, most notably joining his grandson Mark for the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2019.
Mark revealed his grandfather was his motivation for going on the show.
‘I’ve wanted to find out our family history forever, as my Grandad has always guessed where we’re from. But nobody’s ever known,’ he said.
‘He was told my family of his that we were Italian and to be able to give this back to him is great. He’s done so much for us, he’s our king.
‘It’s hard to repay him but this was that moment before it’s too late.’
On the programme, Mark described Eddie as ‘a tough ex British champion boxer but on the flipside he’s just a sweetheart gentleman’.
Mark found out a lot about his father’s side of the family during the course of the programme and he told viewers how they grew up in London’s East End.
‘My great great grandfather was a bit of an east end wide boy. He was a bit of a thief but everything he did was to support his family.’
‘He had eight kids living in a tiny house in east ham. In the end I saw the good in him. He lied about his age to get in the army and he was a great soldier.’
Mark also expressed his love for Eddie during lockdown, fighting back tears on his Heart Radio show as he read out messages from listeners who were missing their family members.
Mark Jr pictured with his grandad Eddie and his dad Mark Snr on Who Do You Think You Are
Mark’s sad news comes ten days after he revealed he is expecting his first child with his wife Michelle
‘That grandad message there got me, I’m missing my grandad very much, grandad Eddie, I love you loads and I can’t wait to see you soon,’ he said.
Eddie’s passing comes ten days after he revealed he is expecting his first child with his wife Michelle.
TV and radio star Mark and actress Michelle shared their happy news they are expecting their first child on December 29 in a sweet Instagram post.
Netflix star Michelle cradled her blossoming bump and wrote: ‘2025 is going to be a special one for us…✨’
The couple received hundreds of congratulatory messages from friends and family on their Instagram post including from Rochelle Humes, Kelly Brook, Vicky Pattison, and best pal Arg.
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