Mark Speight, the television presenter whose fiancee Natasha Collins was found dead in her bath in January after taking drugs, has apparently gone missing.

Police say that Mr Speight, 42, from Enfield, north London, has not been seen by his family and friends since yesterday. Scotland Yard said he was in a "vulnerable" state.

Tonight his family and that of Miss Collins issued a joint statement urging Mr Speight to get in touch.

"Mark has not been seen since 1pm yesterday and because of his fragile state of mind, both Mark’s family and Natasha’s family, as well as all his friends, are deeply worried," said Amanda Stocks, a family spokeswoman, reading the statement aloud.

"We notified police because of our concerns and we just want to know he is safe. We would urge Mark, if he hears this appeal, to get in touch.

"We don’t have any more information at this time. If anyone does have any knowledge as to Mark’s whereabouts or has seen Mark in the last 24 hours, please contact Edmonton police station immediately."

The statement was issued outside the home of Carmen Collins, 57, who is Miss Collins’ mother. Mr Speight had been staying with her since Natasha’s death. As the statement was read out to a growing group of journalists and cameramen gathered outside the house, a visibly upset Mrs Collins mouthed the words "please get in touch".

Six days ago the coroner at the inquest into the death of Miss Collins, who was also a TV presenter, recorded a verdict of death by misadventure after noting that she had a "very significant" amount of cocaine in her body at the time of death.

Mr Speight called the emergency services in a distraught state after waking in the afternoon to discover her dead in the bath of the couple’s home in St John’s Wood, north-west London, on January 3.

He told police the couple had been "partying" at home on their own, and had taken cocaine and sleeping pills as well as drinking wine and vodka.

Miss Collins, 31, who was wearing a cropped top, was found to have hot water burns covering about 60 per cent of her body, the inquest heard. The pathologist gave the cause of death as cocaine toxicity and immersion in hot water.

"It does seem from this that, whilst Mr Speight was asleep, at some stage she got up. She went into the bathroom. She had a bath," said the coroner.

"It is more likely than not that she had some heart problem when in the bath that caused her to lose consciousness, and unfortunately she had the hot tap on."

The coroner noted that even without the burns there would have been enough cocaine in the presenter’s blood to kill her.

Mr Speight was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying Class A drugs, but last month Scotland Yard said he would not face any charges over the death.

He has been staying with Miss Collins’ widowed mother, Carmen, who claimed in a newspaper interview yesterday that she heard Mr Speight crying at night. Mrs Collins said he turned up "broken" on her doorstep because he could not face going back to the flat he had shared with her daughter.

Mr Speight resigned from presenting the art show SMart after Miss Collins’ death.

The couple had appeared together in the BBC children’s programme See It Saw It. Speight also appeared on the BBC’s religious show Heaven and Earth, as well as on ITV’s This Morning.

Scotland Yard said that Mr Speight, of Norfolk Avenue, Enfield, was last seen at 9.30am yesterday when he was dropped off at Wood Green station, north London. He was due to meet a friend at 3.30pm in Covent Garden, central London, but did not arrive.

He is described as about 6ft tall, slim, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown suit jacket, dark jeans and a brown flat cap.

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