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Clearly, this was a man in distress. Haunting CCTV footage from the night of Thursday 12 March shows Jordan Wright – a star from The Only Way is Essex – sprinting down a dimly lit street on the Thai island of Phuket while looking desperately over his shoulder.
Shortly after 11.25pm, Wright arrived back at his four-star hotel, Coco Phuket Bangtao Beach, where he paced round the grounds before later charging out of the compound and tearing across nearby fields. That was the last time he was seen alive.
It is unclear whether the 33-year-old was running away from someone, or something. What we do know is that two days later, Wright was found dead in a drainage ditch near Bang Tao Beach by a Burmese farm worker harvesting vegetables.
Wright’s body was lying face down in putrid, stagnant water. The star’s iPhone 17 appeared to have been tossed on to a nearby bank while his hotel keycard remained in his otherwise empty pockets.
Satellite footage from the area suggests that in order to arrive at his resting place, Wright would have had to slide down a ten-foot gulley, wade through a small stream and stumble across a construction site.
However, with no CCTV cameras or witnesses around the drainage site, it is mere speculation as to what grim fate may have caught up with the reality TV star.
Thai officials have reported no evidence of a physical assault. That does not, however, rule out the possibility of foul play. This is hardly the first time The Only Way is Essex, or Towie as it is better known, has found itself in the news for troubling reasons.
Famous for its cheeky humour, gleaming white teeth, outlandish hair cuts and scripted drama, the Towie story has also had its darker side. In December 2019, then 25-year-old Arthur Collins – the ex-boyfriend of Towie star Ferne McCann – was sentenced to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of hurling a corrosive substance over partygoers at the Mangle E8 nightclub in Dalston on April 17 the same year.
Wright was found dead in a drainage ditch near Bang Tao Beach by a Burmese farm worker harvesting vegetables
CCTV shows Wright sprinting back towards his hotel and looking back over his shoulder a few days before his death
Mike Hassini, who featured in the show for three years before Wright’s arrival, was sentenced to seven years in prison on drugs charges having been caught with almost £150,000 of cocaine.
He was released in 2023 after serving just two years.
Meanwhile, another Towie favourite, Lauren Goodger, saw her lover, Joey Morrison, sentenced to 16 years in prison for possession of a firearm, kidnapping, blackmail and actual bodily harm. In a shocking twist, Morrison’s brother – Stephen –was later stabbed to death in a car park.
Former firefighter Wright first came to attention in 2017 when he appeared on the MTV reality show Ex on The Beach. The following year, he was selected to appear on Towie, featuring in 17 episodes and achieving notoriety following an on-screen bust up with co-star Myles Barnett.
His stint came to an abrupt end, however, after allegations that he was taking sick leave from the fire service in order to forge his TV career.
Wright duly returned to his day job, though he continued to cash in on his fame, performing DJ slots at nightclubs around the country.
He had been in Thailand since December, travelling on what is reported to have been a ‘digital nomad’ visa, which entitled him to work freely.
Phuket is the largest island off the west coast of mainland Thailand, a go-to destination in the area for British tourists seeking winter sun.
Former firefighter Wright first came to attention in 2017 when he appeared on the MTV reality show Ex on The Beach
The four-star hotel on the island of Phuket in Thailand, a popular tourist destination
Photos on social media from earlier this year show Wright riding around the tourist paradise on a white Kawasaki motorcycle, describing it as his ‘new life’.
It is unclear why he felt the need to escape his old life.
Further posts show the star scuba diving. On March 6, Wright shared an image of himself reclined with a glass of champagne in an infinity swimming pool, a cool grin spread across his face. It seemed that all was well.
It is unclear exactly when Wright checked in to the Coco Phuket Bangtao Beach Hotel, though staff claim he was due to check out on March 13, the day after he was caught by CCTV tearing through the streets.
The four-star hotel, where rooms start from just £23 a night, describes itself as ‘perfect for romantic getaways’ and boasts a large outdoor pool and spa facilities. It is just a stone’s throw from picturesque sandy beaches. Wright, however, checked in alone and did not appear to have a travel companion. According to one hotel worker: ‘He would go out at night like other guests. There was nothing unusual until we could not find him when he was due to check out.’
Summarising the horrifying events of the past week, Lieutenant Colonel Sutthirak Chuthong said that ‘CCTV footage showed that he appeared restless and was moving back and forth in front of the hotel before leaving the area’.
A search of the star’s hotel room found no evidence of a break-in or any other ‘irregularities’.
‘[Wright’s] movements eventually led to the location where his body was later discovered,’ he continued. ‘We are still waiting for the autopsy results from Vachira Phuket Hospital to determine whether drugs were present in his system.
‘We cannot confirm the exact cause of death until the autopsy results are released. If relatives or friends have concerns about the cause of death, they can contact the police station.’
British nationals have had a chequered history in Thailand. In October last year, Thai police arrested 23-year-old George Wilson from Buckinghamshire on drug smuggling charges after he was found with over 9kg of crystal meth in a Bangkok hotel room. If found guilty, Wilson may face the death penalty.
In February this year, a 57-year-old Liverpudlian man was killed on Phuket following a street brawl with a 29-year-old Swedish national in what was thought to be a road rage incident. In the past 24 hours, tributes have poured in for Wright.
Towie co-star Chloe Brockett posted ‘rest in peace Jordan’ to Instagram while another star of the reality show, Liam ‘Gatsby’ Blackwell wrote: ‘Missing you already brother’. Brandon Myers, who featured on MTV’s Ex on the Beach echoed the sentiment, writing: ‘Lost for words bro. Amazing memories with you mate’.
Wright’s former manager Alex Shafiq told the Daily Mail that Jordan was a ‘fun lad’ who ‘lit up any room with his smile’.
‘I’m a good judge of character,’ continued Shafiq, ‘and I knew Jordan was a great person from the moment I met him. He was a very good looking lad, with a great, wide smile.
‘He tried TV for a bit but DJing was his real passion, that’s what he wanted to focus on.’
Yet no amount of kind words can dispel the haunting CCTV footage of Wright charging down that quiet street late at night.
It raises the possibility that someone – perhaps someone giving chase – knows exactly what happened to the 33-year-old in the days and hours before his death.
While no cause of death has yet been given,it is clear to everyone involved in the case that the real mystery is not how this young man died, but why.
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