Paul Flack, the older brother of the late television presenter Caroline Flack, has died at the age of 55 – six years after his sister took her own life.
The graphic designer was found unresponsive at his home in Sandringham Road, Norwich, on 21 June, an inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court has heard. He was taken by ambulance to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10.44pm that evening.
“Paul Flack, brother of Caroline Flack, died aged 55 at Norfolk hospital on 21 June; inquest opened.”
Norfolk Police said officers had been called after concerns for the safety of a man in his 50s. The force added that the death is being treated as unexplained but there are no suspicious circumstances.
Area coroner Yvonne Blake adjourned the brief hearing until October, saying further inquiries were needed before the circumstances surrounding Mr Flack’s death could be fully established.
Mr Flack, who was eight years older than Caroline, posted a childhood picture of her on Instagram after her death in February 2020. Alongside it, he wrote: “This will be my last post here. May those who know feel shame for eternity. Love you Caroline x.”
Caroline Flack, the former Love Island and X Factor host, was found dead at her home in Stoke Newington, east London, on 15 February 2020, aged 40. An inquest later established she had taken her own life while facing trial accused of assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton. The day before her death, she had learned she would be prosecuted and feared press intrusion.
Her death sparked a national debate about online hate and its impact on mental health. Her family later accused the Crown Prosecution Service of seeking to stage a “show trial”. In a 2021 documentary, Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death, her mother Christine argued that her daughter should not have been prosecuted. Burton himself said Flack did not hit him with a lamp, as prosecutors had claimed.
A CPS memo obtained by Christine Flack noted that the suspect had no previous convictions and the cut to the injured person did not require medical intervention, with the author stating: “I do not believe that the case is in the public interest to prosecute.” However, a detective who overheard the case allegedly pushed for charges, writing: “[Flack] has caused a significant injury. As such, this is not a minor offence.”
Nazir Afzal, a former chief prosecutor who had previously defended the CPS’s decision, later said the decision to prosecute “made no sense”.
The organisers of Flackstock – a festival set up to promote mental health awareness in memory of the TV presenter – said they were “beyond heartbroken” by the news of Paul Flack’s death. In a statement on Instagram, they said: “We loved Paul so deeply, and this news has shattered us all. Paul was funny, kind and loving. He gave the best hugs and had the most brilliant laugh. We will miss him so much.”