TV medium Derek Acorah has died at the age of 69 after a "very brief illness", his wife has confirmed.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Gwen Acorah Johnson added that her husband had been in intensive care after falling into a coma.

She wrote: "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.

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

In the second part of her statement, she suggested that her husband had been targeted by online trolls before his death.


'I'm here to link and connect with the world of spirit'

The self-styled spiritual medium, whose real name was Derek Johnson, appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017 where he finished fourth.

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

He presented Predictions With Derek Acorah early on in his TV career and hosted the paranormal reality TV series Most Haunted in 2001, which ran for six series.

Predictions with Derek Acorah, in which he conducted readings with members of the public in their own homes, became a frontrunner for paranormal investigation programmes.

Years later, he fronted Michael Jackson: The Live Seance, in which he attempted to contact the singer's spirit.

Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding posted a brief tribute to Acorah on her official Twitter page, writing: "Our condolences go out to Derek's family at this time x".