Kym Marsh thought it was a "horrible joke" when she was first told her friend David Gest had died.

Kym Marsh

Kym Marsh

The 'Coronation Street' actress just didn't want to believe the news when she heard that the concert promoter had suddenly passed away last Tuesday (12.04.16) at the age of 62 and was certain it must be a mistake.

Kym had been working on an episode of the soap in Manchester when she discovered David had passed and she admits being around friends helped her deal with her shock.

Writing in her OK! magazine column, she said: "I don't think I could have got through it otherwise. I started getting all these phone calls from random people and couldn't understand why, and then finally I saw a message from my mum, saying, 'David has been found dead in his hotel room,' and I thought it was all a horrible joke."

The 39-year-old star had only spoken to David - who was found lifeless on the floor of his suite at the Four Seasons hotel - a few weeks before and, to her, he seemed well and excited about his work plans for the year.

She added: "The last time I spoke to him was a couple of weeks ago and he was talking about his future plans. I hadn't seen him for a while but I loved him and he knows I loved him​."

Part of those plans had been organising his 'David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul Tour' and Kym was expected to join him at the end of the run of shows in the UK to co-host a celebratory party and charity auction.

The pair had been close for several years and David often referred to Kym as his "little sister".

In the wake of his death, the former Hear'Say singer took to Twitter to post an emotional poem in memory of the flamboyant personality.

The verses read: "Those special memories of you will always bring a smile / if I only I could have you back for just a little while / Then we could sit and talk again just like we used to do / you always meant so very much and always will do too / The fact that you're no longer here will always cause me pain / but you're forever in my heart until we meet again (sic)"

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