'Dead' Paddy Doherty reacts to swell of tributes after being 'killed' by heart attack

EXCLUSIVE: My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star, Paddy Doherty said his phone was 'going mad' after sick posts were uploaded announcing his death, but he was touched by the outpouring of love

11:53, 01 Mar 2024Updated 11:55, 01 Mar 2024

Thankfully Paddy is alive and well(Image: Facebook)

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty has responded to tributes from "beyond the grave" after being "killed off" by sick internet trolls.

The well-known traveller was forced to post a video to his channels reassuring fans that "I'm alive" after a fake news site announced his death to a massive heart attack yesterday. The bombshell sparked a wave of emotional tributes to the Celebrity Big Brother winner and sent his phone into meltdown.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star today, Paddy said: "I don't know who's doing it but they must have a sad life to do a thing like that. It's sick, some people must be jealous.

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"The whole thing p****d me off and it knocked the stuffing out of my wife, she's on the edge of her nerves as it is.

[Paddy tells everyone 'I'm alive!']

Paddy tells everyone 'I'm alive!'

"My phone was going nuts with calls and messages. A lifelong friend called me crying, I asked her: 'did I have to die for you phone me up?'," he joked.

While the ordeal sickened Paddy, he admitted he was touched by the outpouring of love from fans and friends.

"The love I received was unbelievable," he said, after being able to read his own tributes from beyond the grave.

[Paddy said he was disgusted by the sick fake news]

Paddy said he was disgusted by the sick fake news(Image: Supplied)

"I didn't know that many people cared. I'm so happy and pleased and just like there's no end to the sea, there's no end of the love I have for the people who contacted me."

The 64-year-old spoke of the highs and lows of being the "first traveller to be recognised as a celebrity," but said the good thing to come out of his celebrity status is being able to use it to support charitable causes, which he continues to do.

The death post featured on the Traveller Bible Facebook page and attracted thousands of tributes and shares. It was accompanied by photographs of when Paddy kept people updated from his hospital bed when he was struck down with coronavirus several years ago.

[The tribute was posted on The Traveller Bible in Facebook ]

The tribute was posted on The Traveller Bible in Facebook

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The Traveller Bible has since removed their post which linked to a story on a fake news site.

When contacted by the Daily Star, they said: "Yeah we just repeated news from another page. Is it a hoax?"

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