Mark Wright has shared a touching tribute to his beloved grandfather Eddie following his death at the age of 92.
Mark, 37, who is expecting his first child with wife Michelle Keegan, 37, took to Instagram to share a sweet snap with his “biggest supporter” Eddie and vowed to continue making his grandad proud.
On Tuesday, a representative for Mark confirmed that Eddie passed away “peacefully at home, surrounded by his loved ones.”
In a lengthy caption, Mark wrote: “Over the 37 years I’ve known you Grandpa, when I was little I asked myself and even asked you on numerous occasions ‘when do you think you’re going to go to heaven?’ because I was so afraid of it.
‘I have received messages from hundreds of people, some of whom I haven’t seen in over 20 years. EVERY message has the same words written in some way. GENTLEMAN – KIND – LEGEND!! All these things you were and more.
“You loved your family very much and your greatest success is how close we are and how many of us there are.”
Mark Wright has shared a touching tribute to his beloved grandfather Eddie following his death at the age of 92.
Mark, 37, who is expecting his first child with wife Michelle Keegan, 37, took to Instagram to share a sweet snap with his “biggest supporter” Eddie and vowed to continue making his grandad proud.
Mark continued: “You never got mad, you supported us no matter what, you never said no, even when I asked you to come to my bachelor party in Las Vegas in ’83 (you still hold the record for being the only person who ever ordered a cup of tea in a Las Vegas nightclub at 2am) If you scolded us for being idiots growing up, you’d apologize.
‘You said goodbye to us from the window every time we left your house and even 3 hours before you fell asleep forever, out of breath and without much energy, you uttered the words “I’ll come down to say goodbye to you son” which sums you up, you put EVERYONE in first place.
‘You made everyone feel so special and left a lasting impression on everyone I know. My friends love you, my wife loves you, and everyone you ever met loves you. Grandpa, you can never be replaced because you were one in a million, but we can make sure your legacy lives on.
“I will continue to be the gentleman you taught me to be, I will take care of Nanny and I will continue to make you proud because one thing is for sure: you were my biggest supporter.”
He ended the message with an emotional farewell: ‘Thank you, Grandpa, for everything. I am so grateful that I could love you, be your partner, that you were my teacher, my boxing coach, my taxi driver, my idol, MY GRANDFATHER EDDIE, your legend, I LOVE YOU FOREVER.
A spokesperson for the former TOWIE star confirmed the sad news to MailOnline on Tuesday, with the statement: ‘Mark’s grandfather passed away last night. He passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones.’
Mark’s paternal grandfather, Eddie, was a former boxing champion and was hospitalized last year after a fall.
Mark’s father, Big’ Mark Wright, shared a photo of his father on Instagram at the time and wrote: “Happy Father’s Day to the best, sadly in hospital at the moment after a fall a couple of days ago, But dad, I’m on my way.” Until I see you now stay strong xxx’.
Mark’s paternal grandfather, Eddie, was a former boxing champion and passed away on Monday night (pictured together in 2019).
In a lengthy caption, Mark wrote: “Over the 37 years I’ve known you, Grandpa, when I was little I asked myself and even asked you on numerous occasions, ‘When do you think you’ll go to heaven?'” I asked this question often. .because I feared it a lot.
Mark’s wife, Michelle, shared the post on her Instagram Stories and wrote: “Grandpa Eddie… a gentleman in every sense of the word.”
Eddie had been part of the Wright family spotlight over the years, notably joining his grandson Mark in the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2019.
Mark revealed that his grandfather was his motivation for participating in the show.
‘I have always wanted to know our family history, since my grandfather has always guessed where we are from. But no one has ever known,” he said.
‘They told my family that we were Italian and to be able to give it back to them is fantastic. He has done a lot for us, he is our king.
“It’s hard to repay him, but this was the moment before it’s too late.”
On the show, Mark described Eddie as “a tough ex-British boxing champion, but otherwise he’s just a lovely gentleman.”
Mark discovered a lot about his father’s family during the course of the show and told viewers about how they grew up in London’s East End.
‘My great-great-grandfather was an east end boy. He was a bit of a thief, but everything he did was to support his family.
He had eight children who lived in a small house in East Ham. In the end I saw the good in him. He lied about his age to get into the army and was a great soldier.
Mark also expressed his love for Eddie during lockdown, fighting back tears on his Heart Radio show as he read messages from listeners missing their families.
Mark Jr pictured with his grandfather Eddie and father Mark Snr in Who Do You Think You Are
Mark’s sad news comes ten days after he revealed he is expecting his first child with wife Michelle.
“That message from Grandpa got me, I miss my Grandpa so much, Grandpa Eddie, I love you so much and I can’t wait to see you soon,” he said.
Eddie’s death comes ten days after he revealed he was expecting his first child with his wife Michelle.
Radio and TV star Mark and actress Michelle shared the happy news that they are expecting their first child on December 29 in a sweet Instagram post.
Netflix star Michelle cradled her burgeoning baby bump and wrote: ‘2025 will be special for us…’
The couple received hundreds of congratulatory messages from friends and family on their Instagram post, including Rochelle Humes, Kelly Brook, Vicky Pattison and her best friend Arg.