Darius Campbell Danesh's ex-wife Natasha Henstridge pays tribute to the late Scottish singer on the three-year anniversary of his death
The Scottish singer, who shot to fame in ITV show Popstars, was found dead in his US apartment in August 2022.
His death at the age of 41 was linked to toxic effects of the drug chloroethane which he was using to treat chronic neck pain following a car accident. The death was ruled an accident by a medical examiner.
Taking to Instagram earlier this week, Natasha shared an array of pictures of Darius in a touching tribute.
Among the snaps was a picture of Natasha balancing on Darius's back as the pair posed in front of the Eiffel Tower, both sporting huge smiles.
She captioned the snaps: 'Love and light always. Miss you today…. Sending love to the Danesh's and everyone whose life he touched.'
Darius' family had earlier confirmed his passing was being linked to respiratory arrest.
They said: 'In the days leading up to his death, Darius had been suffering from severe nerve pain in his neck following car accidents in 2010 and 2021, which was progressively 'getting worse '.
'He had taken pain medication, marijuana and chloroethane to manage the intensity of the pain prior to his death.
'The night before Darius passed, he had dinner with close friends, who reported that 'Darius was in a lot of pain, but he was in good spirits when he was with us'.
'They stayed together until the early hours of the morning and made plans to meet the following day.
'When Darius did not show up and could not be reached, the hotel staff were asked to check on him.
'Around 11.50am on 11th August, Darius was found unresponsive in bed by the hotel staff in the apartment where he was staying, having inhaled chloroethane using a bag, which led to respiratory arrest.
'The Rochester Fire and Police Department pronounced Darius deceased shortly after at 12.01pm. The autopsy report also concluded that Darius' heart was twice the expected size.
'This may have contributed to his respiratory arrest.'
The family added his death was determined to be a tragic accident and the police maintained there were no suspicious circumstances.
They added: 'We will always remember Darius for his open-hearted warmth, generosity of spirit and the way he touched so many people's hearts and minds.
'He was an incredibly loving, caring and supportive son, brother and friend.. His spirit of love and light is still with us all.'
Pop Idol contestants Will Young and Gareth Gates paid tribute describing him as 'driven, courageous and gentle'.
Hollywood actor Gerard Butler said: 'To those lucky enough to have met Darius for more than a few minutes, they were deeply moved by his infectious laugh and barely containable zest for life.
'He was always armed with a smile, a booming voice, and a genuinely warm embrace that few could resist - nor would they want to.
'He was an incredible talent, a singer whose voice touched your soul and an actor with great presence.'
Campbell's debut single, Colourblind, was released in July 2002 and went straight to number one, marking the start of a run of top 10 releases.
The song re-entered music charts following his death and several days later took the top spot on the iTunes download chart.
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The critically acclaimed book, a collection of essays by more than 30 women about their role in the feminist campaign against Nicola Sturgeon's gender self-ID law, was set to be included in its Dear Library exhibition, after it was nominated by several members of the public. However, The Times revealed on Wednesday that it was pulled after a backlash by the library's internal LGBT staff network, which claimed it contained 'hate speech' and that displaying it would cause 'severe harm' to workers. They threatened to 'notify LGBT+ partners of the library's endorsement of the book' if management did not cave in. Shah justified the decision by citing the potential impact on 'key stakeholders' and the library's reputation if the gender-critical book was included, but has faced intense opposition after her ban was made public. In a major intervention, Graham called on the library to admit its mistake and reinstate the book to Dear Library, which Shah had publicly thanked him for his role in funding. He said that if it did not, he would have no option but to publicly disassociate himself from the campaign, saying the library had given in to what he claimed was a 'censorious, bullying culture' instead of standing up for ideals of free speech. The book's editors, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Susan Dalgety, have branded the removal of their work 'cowardly and anti-democratic' and repeated their call for the decision to be reversed. 'I think this was a fundamental mistake and the correct thing for the library to do would be to put up their hands, admit that and reinstate the book,' Graham said. 'Instead, there have been weaselly responses. 'The library is not saying they have taken it out because it contains hate speech, because it does not. They've taken it out because of some ill-conceived notion that someone might be upset by its presence. That's not a good enough reason for me.' Graham added: 'This is not about taking one side or the other on the trans debate. It's about the principles of open debate and free speech, which to the national library should be sacrosanct. 'It isn't too late to redeem the situation. But if there is not a change of heart, I feel I will have no choice but to publicly dissociate myself from the exhibition and the campaign that surrounds it. 'This stupid escapade does not undo the very good work the library does, but it should never have happened. 'I couldn't say definitely that I will not donate any more money if they stick to their guns on this, but it has certainly given me pause for thought. That makes me incredibly sad.' Shah, who last year received a salary of between £105,000 and £110,000 in addition to pension contributions of £41,000, decided to exclude the book with the support of Sir Drummond Bone, the chairman of the National Library of Scotland (NLS). An insider within the cultural sector in Scotland said the decision was symptomatic of a wider trend of managers being seen to cave in to demands of young, activist staff members who have little resilience or tolerance of views different to their own. Graham became a major donor to the NLS as he credited free access to books at Cambuslang public library in his childhood as shaping his life and allowing him to go on to pursue a highly successful career in television. He sold his television company, Wall to Wall, in which he purchased a 33 per cent share for £1 in 1987, for about £25 million two decades later. Although the library receives the bulk of its funding from the Scottish government, private donors such as Graham, who has been repeatedly acknowledged by the library for his philanthropy, are also essential to its work. Graham has been one of the library's major donors over the past decade, funding major projects such as the digitisation of medieval manuscripts. He funds a scholarship at the library which is named in his honour, as is a room at the National Library of Scotland's moving image library at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Graham's generosity in supporting the centenary celebrations was singled out for praise by Shah at the launch of the Dear Library exhibition in June. Graham said he was initially impressed with it, before discovering that The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, which included a contribution from JK Rowling, had been excluded. 'On the opening night of the exhibition, I thought it was fantastic, because I found at least two books in there that I consider to be among the worst ever written,' Graham said. 'I said to Amina I thought that was great, because the whole point was that while some people are inspired by a book, others will hate it. That's the joy of the society we live in and the freedom that we have. 'There are books that are beyond the pale, but there are very few of them. You need to be very careful before you ban anything. 'This book [The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht] was clearly selected to be included, and frankly the management were then bullied out of that by a staff lobby group. 'They say they've removed this book to protect relationships with stakeholders. But they certainly didn't consult me and if they had, I would have voiced strong opposition. I am angry and disappointed at the decision to remove the book as well as the implication that as a stakeholder, I am somehow supportive of it, which I am not.' Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, has found herself at the centre of a similar row after staff and performers at Edinburgh's Summerhall arts venue criticised her views on trans rights. Summerhall's bosses said Forbes had been permitted to speak at the venue as 'an oversight' after some of the artists set up a 'safe room' while the 5ft 2in politician was present as they were 'terrified' because of her opinions. A whistleblower who works within the arts sector in Scotland said that activist staff members were becoming increasingly powerful within major publicly funded institutions. 'I have been in so many meetings where it is just taken as a given that everyone there is in lockstep on these issues — that everyone hates JK Rowling and that books like The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht are dangerous and harmful,' a source claimed. 'The internal LGBT networks are given carte blanche and it is very isolating to those of us who do not agree with their extreme views, who are forced to self-censor or face, at best, being socially ostracised at work. 'It sounds ridiculous but those of us who don't agree with them feel like we're in an underground network like the French resistance or something, secretly sending each other supportive messages.' The insider added: 'A major part of the problem across the cultural sector is the infantilisation of younger staff members, who can't cope with any type of conflict or opposition to their views. 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