The heartbroken brother of late Emmerdale star Dale Meeks has said the actor had been "profoundly unwell" and "unable to cope" before his death aged 47.
Dale, who was best known for his roles as Simon Meredith on ITV soap Emmerdale and Greg on BBC drama Byker Grove, died on April 22 at South Tyneside hospital in Newcastle. In an emotional post on Instagram, his brother Philip revealed how he "tried so desperately to help him".
Philip wrote: "The little boy I grew up with has left me. I cared for him so deeply. I tried so desperately to help him. It will say heart failure on the death certificate.
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"But we'll be collecting for @mindcharity. Dale was profoundly unwell and unable to cope and undiagnosed conditions in men in their forties are killers."
He added: "Dale was let down by those who should have seen beyond his ability to act and recognise his pain. I will never get over his death."
Following the sad news, Byker Grove co-stars Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, who played PJ and Duncan in the show, led tributes on Sunday. In a statement on Twitter, they said: "We are so incredibly sorry to hear the very sad news of Dale’s passing.
“He was the loveliest of guys, even though he was a Denton ‘Burner’, the arch nemesis of the Byker ‘Grovers’! A sad loss at such a young age. RIP Dale. Sleep well bonny lad.”
Shortly before his sudden death, Dale also appeared in a cameo role on ITV’s The Hunt For Raoul Moat.
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