A DARLINGTON man who was about to appear in a TV show presented by Caroline Flack has paid tribute to a "caring and down to earth" personality.

Les Langley of Low Coniscliffe near Darlington, was due to appear in Channel 4's The Surjury after filming with the presenter over three months, last year.

The programme, which was set to launch in the next few months, was cancelled today after Channel 4 bosses revealed that they had decided "not to broadcast" the show following Ms Flack's death.

Mr Langley had been part of the show's on-screen jury, which decided if life-changing surgery brought by a contestant would be granted.

The Northern Echo:

Speaking to The Northern Echo on Monday, he said: "I was working on a new show with Caroline last year, there was three parts to filming a new show that was going to come out this year."

Describing what working with Ms Flack had been like during filming, Mr Langley described the presenter as "one of them," despite being known for presenting programmes on ITV 2.

He said: "She was fantastic, she would come in the morning, her timekeeping wasn’t great to be honest, but she would ask each one of us how we were this morning.

"She really cared for those people (contestants) on the show, some of those people were coming on for life-changing surgery and were extremely nervous about coming out on stage.

The Northern Echo:

"She would make them feel at ease, and on more than one occasion she had a tear in her eye."

Mr Langley said that the ex-Love Island presenter did not act like a celebrity and that despite having her own make-up artist, she appeared down to earth.

He said: “There was no star feel to it, she was just one of us. She had her make-up artist, but she was one of us."

But describing the moment a Whatsapp group made up of fellow panellists erupted with anguish, he said the announcement of her death was difficult to process.

He said: "I was driving and my phone kept on bleeping – I thought it must have been about when the show was going to air.

"When I got home, I looked at my phone and was in total shock. I turned on the news, hoping it wasn't true. It was really upsetting."

Mr Langley said members of the group had come together to show their support for each other, while Channel 4 had contacted them to offer emotional support.

He added: "Channel 4 emailed us within hours of it being announced, I just hope they would have given the same support to Caroline."

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: "We are shocked and saddened to hear the tragic news about Caroline Flack.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to Caroline's family and friends. Under the circumstances, we have decided not to broadcast The Surjury."