ITV boss pays tribute to This Morning's Fiongal Greenlaw believed to be dead in Air India crash

Daily Record

21 hours ago

Former This Morning editor has Martin Frizell has shared a moving tribute to Fiongal Greenlaw, who is believed to have died on board the fatal Air India flight with his husband, which crashed earlier today.
Former This Morning editor Martin Frizell has paid touching tribute to a former guest who is believed to have died in the Air India crash today. His post comes after the heartbreaking news of the fatal flight. Fiongal Greenlaw, 39, and his husband Jamie Meek, 45, are understood to have been onboard the flight which was due to land at London's Gatwick Airport.
The aircraft went down shortly after take off. The couple had been enjoying a holiday together in India. Fiongal and Jamie co-founded a wellness branded together, which had previously been promoted on This Morning.
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Martin, 66, who was the former editor of the ITV show before stepping down earlier this year, paid tribute to the pair in a moving post on Instagram this afternoon He posted a snap of Fiongal alongside hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley in the studio.
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Martin penned in the caption that he had a "vibrancy" and "sheer enthusiasm" when he had featured as a guest on the show back in January, the Mirror reports.
His post read: "So so sad to hear that Fiongal Greenlaw Meek and his partner are reported to be among the passengers and crew killed today on board the Air India flight bound for Gatwick.
"I remember his visit to the studio in January, he was passionate about auras and although I'm a sceptical sort his vibrancy and sheer enthusiasm won folk over."
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He continued: "And I know for a fact that he hoped to use his appearance on This Morning to build his Wellness brand, he had a great future ahead of him. Thoughts are with his family and friends and those of his partner Jamie."
Among those who have liked Martin's post are Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid. Meanwhile Lisa Snowdon, who has appeared on the show multiple times, reacted in the comments with a teary-eyed emoji and one of a broken heart.
Fiongal previously appeared as a guest on the breakfast show in January. During the episode, he gave hosts Ben and Cat a reading over their auras.
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Martin was still the editor of the long-running show at the time that the episode featuring Fiongal aired.
The guest later returned following Martin's departure for another segment. He was brought back as a spiritual advisor on the show in April, with him appearing alongside Ben, Cat and Josie Gibson in the TV studio based in London.
After his first visit, a post shared by his wellness brand the Wellness Foundry on Instagram read: "So this happened ... The biggest gig so far! Fiongal on This Morning - it was very nerve-wracking but he was honoured to chat about one of his favourite topics to such a big audience."
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In an apparent message for him, the post on the platform continued: "Thank you to everyone [at] This Morning for being so amazing and guiding me through. Thank you to [Cat and Ben] for being so kind and welcoming."
Fiongal and Jamie are among those thought to have died in the plane crash earlier today. As previously reported, the couple had posted a video from Ahmedabad airport just moments before boarding the plane.
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They had been visiting India together. In the video shared from the airport, Fiongal and Jamie were seen smiling as they prepared to fly home. They are said to have spoken about their time away together in the video message.
In the clip, Fiongal reportedly says: "We are at the airport just boarding. Goodbye India. Ten-hour flight back to England. What was your biggest takeaway Jamie?" Jamie replies: "I don't know." It prompts laughter from Fiongal, who responds to his husband: "Thanks for your contribution."
Fiongal then teases that his takeaway was "don't lose your patience with your partner". Jamie replies: "You snapped at me at the airport for having chai." Surrounded by fellow travellers, the clip ends with Fiongal saying he's returning to the UK "happily, happily calm".
Jamie Greenlaw-Meek also appeared on BBC One reality contest Dance X. Hosted by Ben Shephard, the series saw two teams of male and female dancers compete to form a new dance group under the guidance of Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli.
Jamie made it as a finalist on the show, but was eliminated in the second episode by Arlene and Bruno. Following his time on the series, Jamie became a seasoned dance and yoga mentor.