TV medium Derek Acorah dies aged 69 after 'very brief illness'

4 January 2020, 07:58

Derek Acorah during Celebrity Big Brother in 2017
Derek Acorah during Celebrity Big Brother in 2017. Picture: PA

By Megan White

TV medium Derek Acorah has died aged 69, his wife has said.

The self-styled spiritual mystic, whose real name is Derek Johnson, had been in intensive care before falling into a coma following a “very brief illness.”

He launched the paranormal reality TV series Most Haunted in 2001 before appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.

His wife Gwen Acorah shared the news in a statement on his official Facebook page, in which she said: "Farewell my love! I will miss you forever! I'm devastated to announce that my beloved husband Derek has passed away after a very brief illness," she wrote.

"Thank you so much to everybody who has supported me - I can never thank you enough."

Acorah found fame as a medium and fronted Predictions With Derek Acorah early in his TV career.

He went on to appear in series 20 of Celebrity Big Brother, where he came fourth.

Born in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1950, Acorah featured in regular segments on 1996 TV show The Psychic Zone before becoming a contributor on spin-off show Psychic Livetime.

His own show, where he would conduct readings with members of the public in their own homes, became a frontrunner for the genre of paranormal investigation programmes.