British reality star Jordan Wright, best known for “The Only Way Is Essex,” has reportedly been found dead in a drainage canal in Thailand, on the heels of the firefighter’s recent move to the Southeast Asian country. He was 33.
Network ITV pointed the Daily News to a statement Thursday confirming the TV personality’s death. “Everyone at TOWIE sends their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jordan Wright at this very sad time,” said a representative for the show.
Choeng Thale Police found Wright’s body face down in a drainage canal near Phuket’s Bang Tao Beach at around 12:30 p.m. local time Saturday, fully clothed save for shoes, according to unconfirmed reports. He was reportedly seen on CCTV earlier that day appearing “agitated.”
Authorities reportedly recovered a keycard on the canal bank and in Wright’s pocket found a keycard for the Coco Phuket Bangtao Hotel, from which he was supposed to check out the day prior. There were no apparent signs of assault nor struggle, though a cause of death is pending autopsy.
The Daily News has reached out to Thai authorities for additional information.
Prior to his 17-episode run on “TOWIE” in 2018, he appeared in eight episodes of MTV’s “Ex on the Beach” in 2017.
Wright confirmed in January that he’d recently moved to Thailand. He last posted on Instagram on March 6, sharing a carousel of his time on the island of Phuket, though he also tagged the islands of Koh Tao and Phi Phi — all favorites amongst tourists and backpackers.
“I’m Home,” Wright captioned the post, along with an emoji of the Thai flag. “FT The best bath I’ve ever taken.”
Fellow “TOWIE” alumni including Chloe Brockett and Liam Gatsby Blackwell both extended their sympathies in the comments section.
“Rest in peace Jordan,” commented Brockett.
“Miss you already brother,” said Blackwell. “Glad I got to see you in Thailand a couple months ago. Big love to all your Family.”
Blackwell also posted a screen grab of a recent text exchange with Wright, saying the latter was “in a really good place” when they last saw each other: “Will miss ya mate. We had some good times filming together back in the day.”