Michael Barrymore does have a ‘revenge mentality, really’. He says so on TikTok.
Whether the video he posted recently is whimsical, hilarious or downright disturbing really depends on the person watching it, and what they know (or think they know) about Barrymore.
In it, the former Mr Saturday Night TV – arguably the most successful TV entertainer of his generation, before his epic fall from grace – is taking a nice walk through the park.
London looks sunny. So does he. He has a beatific smile, yet the overlaid voice commentary, purporting to represent his ‘inner monologue’ screeches about hoping how people – an ex, old friends, anyone who has ‘done me dirty’ – are ‘DEAD’, or ‘DYING’. ‘HOPE YOU ARE DEAD,’ the voice screams, at ear-piercing volume.
The text explains, to a point. ‘No revenge mentality, but this is my inner monologue 24/7,’ he writes. ‘JK [just kidding] I do have a revenge mentality really’. He adds a devil emoji for good measure.
What on earth to make of this – seemingly an admission that, even if only in his own head, Michael Barrymore wants everyone who has wronged him dead?
Maybe it’s a joke? Well, d-u-r-r, of course it is, the kids would say. The inner monologue recording is part of a TikTok trend, an in-joke, and the comments from his army of Gen Z fans are largely of the ‘oh Michael, you are funny’ variety.
Still, a joke based on wishing people dead seems very poor taste, given the reason for Barrymore’s infamous downfall – the death of a man in the star’s pool.
Michael Barrymore has become a Tiktok sensation with more than 3.5million followers on the video sharing platform
Barrymore wearing a fluffy red and grey coat. He was arguably the most successful TV entertainer of his generation, before his epic fall from grace
Barrymore in a video holding up a Scrabble board with the caption ‘four faces’
In 2001, Stuart Lubbock lost his life in suspicious circumstances following a party at Barrymore’s home. The 31-year-old father of two had met Barrymore in a club that evening, and returned to his house with eight others.
He was found unresponsive in the pool, and pronounced dead later in hospital. A post-mortem examination showed he had suffered severe internal injuries, suggesting sexual assault. Police continue to believe he was raped and murdered.
Despite years of investigation, no one has ever been charged, and his family are no closer to knowing what happened.
His father Terry, who campaigned tirelessly for justice and was a thorn in Barrymore’s side, died in 2021 from cancer.
He always believed that even if Barrymore, who fled the scene before police arrived, wasn’t directly involved, he could have done more to bring closure to the family. Terry’s dying wish was that the truth would one day emerge.
What do the Lubbock family make of the latest twist? Not only has Barrymore been crowned King of TikTok, where he has 3.5million followers, but has effectively been uncancelled by Gen Z.
Among the things that make him ‘cool’ is that he joins in with the in-jokes about smoking weed (the code on TikTok is #gardening, apparently).
Stuart’s brother Kevin, who was with him in the nightclub on that fateful night, can’t understand it. ‘It is very sad to hear most of Barrymore’s time is taken up with this nonsense on TikTok,’ he says.
Barrymore’s home, where Stuart Lubbock lost his life in suspicious circumstances following a party and was found unresponsive in the pool
Mr Lubbock (pictured) met Barrymore in a club that evening, and returned to his house with eight others
‘In his later years, you would think he had something better to do. Many fans won’t know of the horrific circumstances of my brother’s death, but as a role model on TikTok, his time could be better spent on discouraging fans on the dangers of substances.
‘This is what led to the demise of his career, and the tragic death of my brother.’
For many years it was assumed Barrymore’s career had died along with Stuart Lubbock. Dropped by ITV because his ‘brand’ had become so toxic (it had been plagued by drug and alcohol issues even before the pool night).
There were a few attempts to regain the limelight, including an appearance on 2006’s Big Brother.
The quiet building of his TikTok brand began in 2022, when he started posting videos from his TV heyday, including clips from Kids Say The Funniest Things. His content has since evolved, making him hugely ‘relevant’.
His fans see him as not just Uncle Michael (or even Grandpa Michael), but as one of their own.
His followers are treated to daily videos about what he is thinking, doing, wearing (mostly hoodies) and eating (here he is making himself a hwachae bowl – if you have to Google it, you are not on trend yourself). No part of his life is too small to share.
He says posting content on TikTok – which his fans see as ‘wholesome’ – is pretty much a full-time job. Very popular are his restaurant reviews. When he’s not eating, he might be taking a ‘colour walk’ – a rainbow-themed I-spy game.
Barrymore seen out walking with his dog in London with his partner on March 3
Barrymore pictured walking his dog in London on Monday with his partner
Last week, he was airborne – courtesy of a TikTok trend where users use camera trickery to blow themselves up, like a balloon.
To those not familiar with TikTok, a deep dive into his account is like stepping on to another planet because here he is adored, revered, worshipped – and not just on a Saturday night either, but on every day of the week.
Indeed, when Barrymore announced last year he was quitting Britain and moving to Spain, his fans buckled up for the ride. Just six weeks later, however, he was almost weeping in his car, and declaring himself homesick.
Fans flocked to put a metaphorical arm around him, posting that he should just ‘come home’. One offered him her spare room, as one might to any stranger finding themselves suddenly homeless (kind but possibly not needed since the car he was in was his £75,000 Porsche Macan).
‘It’s no exaggeration to say this is a TikTok phenomenon,’ says Nika van Der Merwe, who runs Sound + Colour, a company advising on social media content.
‘It’s remarkable because he isn’t the age we normally associate with TikTok.’
And yet relevant, somehow. ‘He is just a cool guy,’ she says. ‘The way he dresses is cool. The way he talks about smoking weed is cool to the TikTok community. He engages with his community. He is very good at being relevant.
‘What has been surprising is that he jumps on TikTok trends so quickly even someone like me is made aware of a trend when we see it on his page first.’
A grab of Barrymore appearing to hang upside down above a lilac mat in a bathroom
Barrymore wearing a white mask in a Tiktok video. He so far doesn’t appear to have any big sponsored deals or major brand endorsements
Nor is his ‘content’ only that of the seasoned funnyman. ‘He has relatability. People have been affected by his story. When he posted about his dog dying (Barrymore shared the last days of his Jack Russell Dave), there was a rawness there. Followers went on the journey with him. He is a very good storyteller.’
Does anyone on TikTok care about the story of Stuart Lubbock?
Nika grew up in South Africa so isn’t aware of the ins and outs of Barrymore’s history but she doesn’t want to be drawn too much into that.
‘Some on TikTok probably are aware but I’m not sure if they still care about it.’ This is backed up by our own chats with TikTok users who ‘heart’ Barrymore. One 23-year-old says TikTokers think of him as the ‘cool uncle they never had’.
Are they aware of his fall from grace and the scandal attached to it? ‘I know there was something about a pool but it was nothing to do with Michael and he’s a good man,’ she says.
Another, a 22-year-old student, describes ‘the pool thing’ as ‘fake news. Michael is the sweetest man’. When she started following him she did do some Googling – but only to see whether he was Drew Barrymore’s father.
Those not au fait with TikTok might assume Barrymore has stumbled onto the platform by happy accident. Not necessarily.
Gregor Cubie, of PR firm Borkowski, says the question industry insiders are asking is: who is helping him?
Barrymore pictured screaming as he skids down a water ramp in a video stunt
‘This isn’t an old guy making videos and just posting them on TikTok. He knows the visual language. He knows how to cut TikTok content so it goes viral.
‘His TikToks look as if they have been made by a Gen Z. There is someone there behind his TikTok account who knows what they are doing.’
Is he making money on TikTok, though? It is tricky to monetise. Although there is a small payment for each video the bigger content providers upload, the true returns come from major brand endorsements.
‘So far he doesn’t appear to have those big sponsored deals,’ says Gregor.
‘He isn’t going hell for leather for that, but he is playing it smart, building up his brand to offer a safe, authentic space, if he does want to go down that road. The question is will advertisers who remember some of the negative publicity be more cautious?’
This sort of analysis assumes Barrymore’s gameplan is to make money. Not necessarily. Even if you don’t get the lure of TikTok, you can see he’s a born entertainer, and engagement with his audience is a currency of its own.
Although he wouldn’t cooperate with this article, he tells his TikTok fans that ‘no one watches TV any more’, and much of his content seems to be a blatant two-fingers up to mainstream media (Barrymore has always argued he was ‘framed’ for the death of Lubbock by the Press).
One of his management team pointed out his videos are watched by 10million people, some by 20million, ‘many times more than the ratings for the biggest Saturday night shows on ITV or BBC1’.
His team suggest Barrymore has been taking an interest in how another has-been TV legend, Noel Edmonds, has been planning a return to the spotlight – by filming his own reality show
In another video, the former presenter says ‘I write my own Gen Z scripts’
In his heyday, Barrymore had a lavish lifestyle, a millionaire mansion and a rumoured fleet of 14 cars. That is long gone (but not missed, he consistently tells fans).
His company, Made by Dave Limited, has been dormant since 2021, when the balance sheet showed a liability of £29,000.
Michael Parker (Barrymore’s legal name) is sole director, but he has not filed any paperwork since the last confirmation statement dated April 2024.
Since 2009, it appears he has been living in a two-bedroomed flat in Acton, West London, bought for £360,000. It was put on the market last autumn for £600,000 but does not appear to have sold.
Although there were rumours of a new partner (he was photographed in Barcelona with a handsome younger man), his new life in Spain didn’t work out. TikTok footage in December is of a man who seemed broken.
By this point he had a new whippet puppy called Lara, on whom he (and his fans) dote. This video lays bare what a troubled man he still is.
‘You know what Lara, I’m a f***ing mess,’ he says in it. ‘I’m so homesick. I’m so insecure. I can’t bear self-pity and what do I do? Self-pity. I’ve been doing it for f****** ages. I’m tired. I don’t know how much more I can take. I’m surprised I haven’t had a panic attack. What a c***.’
Within days, Barrymore had returned to London. What is clear is that he hasn’t forgotten the glory days.
There is only room in his flat for a selection of the trophies he collected when he was King of the Telly, but they are neatly arranged in a display cabinet nonetheless.
The applause that he once thrived on? He has it back, in spades. Some of his most gleeful TikTok posts show him being mobbed in the street, just as he was in the old days. Perhaps his revenge – on the industry that, in his eyes, tried to cancel him – is complete.
