Behind every headline there is a human story

Recently, Clarke Osborne died. For anyone who does not know (there must be some in the Bay), he bought Torquay United in 2016 when he was a director of “Gaming International”. After failing to find a site for a new stadium, he pulled the plug in 2024. The club went into administration and nearly disappeared.

Although very unpopular with Torquay fans at the time, many of the comments online were supportive after his death. They pointed out that however much damage he may have done to the club, his death was a personal tragedy for all his friends and family. Now was not the time to bring up past controversies.

With dramatic stories in the press and TV, it is easy to forget that behind many of these stories are real people. It may seem like a soap opera but, unlike in Coronation Street or EastEnders, these are real people with feelings.

I was reminded of this following the death of Jason Arday, the youngest ever black Cambridge University Professor, appointed at the age of 37. He was alleged to have plagiarised much of his PhD thesis, with the implication that he was promoted above his ability. It was alleged that when a Times Higher Education journalist tried to research the story, he used lawyers to make the paper drop it. He also reported a journalist for harassment, leading to a four-month police investigation which was eventually dropped.

He claimed to have run a marathon with a broken leg and passed his PhD viva two weeks after an operation for a brain tumour. All impressive, but he has never produced any evidence. His biography, ‘Great and Unfortunate Things’, has now been published. Was he only appointed to tick a diversity box for the University? We may never know but what is clear is that he was a human with emotions. Was the pressure he felt from the media and online too much?

Are we making the same mistake with Harry and Meghan? Family feuds are always tragic, whether in the Royal Family or a family in Hele or Foxhole.

For successful pop stars, top footballers and actors, it must be tough. A musician playing in a pub one year and then in front of thousands at the O2 the next year must mean considerable readjustment.

Sometimes they need to keep everything in perspective. When Bruce Welch of The Shadows was asked how he kept his feet on the ground in the early 1960s, he gave credit to his management. At the age of 18, he was number one in the charts. He said to his manager, “I’m a Star”, to which he replied, “Then twinkle bloody twinkle”.

Ed Sheeran married a childhood friend in 2015 and appears to have remained grounded, probably helped by his wife. She knew him long before he was a superstar.

Dolly Parton came over as a decent person with her feet on the ground. Her self-effacing sense of humour and a successful marriage to someone who was not in the business must have helped.

But is the pressure also responsible for “rock and roll” lives of drugs and sex? Is it the continual press coverage that can lead to drug taking? Cliff Richard was only 17 when he became a star, but was he helped by his religious conversion?

Surprisingly, a regular column in Torbay Weekly has not made me a superstar. I have never had to cope with the pressures of stardom or the allegations faced by Jason Arday. No one has ever accused me of plagiarism. This was either because no one noticed or the writing is so poor that no one wanted to claim it.

Whenever a story appears in the press or online exposing the behaviour of the rich and famous, it is worth remembering that behind every story is a real person. With Jason Arday, no one realised until it was too late.