Scott Kristian Edwin Digby (24 June 1977 – 1 March 2010) was an English television presenter and director best known for presenting ''

To Buy or Not to Buy ''To Buy or Not to Buy'' is a British reality television series made between 2003 and 2010 for BBC One in the UK. The final series was the eleventh and contained 90 episodes, in one of two formats—either 30 or 45 minutes in length. It aired on ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. On 1 March 2010 he was found dead in what police said were "unexplained circumstances". On 9 November 2010, a coroner recorded a verdict of

death by misadventure In the United Kingdom, death by misadventure is the recorded manner of death for an accidental death, caused by a risk taken voluntarily. Misadventure in English law, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, ...

Early life

Digby was born in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

, Devon to parents who were

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

s. He attended Bramdean School in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, where he battled with severe

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

, and graduated from the

University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

with a 2:1 in film and photography. He later presented a documentary for the BBC entitled ''Hiding the Truth: I Can't Read'' in which he returned to the school. In 1997, Digby's film ''Words of Deception'' won him a Junior BAFTA. The following year, his film ''Last Train to Demise'', which featured actress and model Lucy Perkins, won the Melbourne Film Festival's Best Student Film award.

Television career

Digby began his television presenting career for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

presenting ''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, c ...

''. Prior to this he covered for LBC's TV critic Chris Stacey on LBC's evening shows, ''Sunday Night'' and ''One Night Strand''. At around the same time, he directed television programmes '' Homefront'', ''Fantasy Rooms'', ''She's Got Have It'' which also featured actress and model Lucy Perkins, ''Girls on Top'' (Not be confused with the 1980s sitcom) and ''

The O-Zone ''The O-Zone'' is a weekly music magazine show broadcast on BBC from 1989 to 2000 made by BBC Children's Presentation. The first series was presented by Andy Crane on BBC One as a ten-minute filler each weekday morning during the summer sch ...

''. In 2001, Digby presented '' That Gay Show'' on

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...

. Beginning in 2003, Digby presented various programmes for the BBC, including ''

''. In addition, he has presented ''Uncharted Territory'', ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

'', ''Trading Up'', ''Living in the Sun'', ''House Swap'', and ''Open House''. In the September 2006 edition of

AXM ''AXM'' was a British lifestyle digital magazine aimed at young gay and bisexual men. The magazine ceased publication of printed magazines after December 2008 due to financial downturn. It was subsequently converted to an online-only format, ...

he appeared nude for charity. Digby was a presenter of morning TV BBC shows: * ''Open House'' – Along with his team, he made over properties that are not selling through the traditional estate agent route, after the make over they host an open house for possible buyers. * ''Buy It, Sell It, Bank It'' – The show follows two property developers at a property auction, the winner is followed for the rest of the show as he or she alters the house. The loser at the auction gives his or her thoughts of the improvements at the end of the show. * ''To Build or Not to Build'' – In 2008 Digby decided to build his own house, designed by Neu Architects. The BBC decided to follow this and also draw in other people who have done something similar with Digby interviewing them. The premise is similar to Channel 4's

Grand Designs ''Grand Designs'' is a British television series produced by Boundless and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects. The programme has been presented by Kevin McCloud since it first ...

, but on a smaller scale.

Directing

In 1997 Digby's film ''Words of Deception'' won a junior Bafta and in 1998 his short film ''Last Train to Demise'' won Best Student Film at the Melbourne Film Festival.

Charity work

Digby devoted a large amount of time to charity work. He supported both dyslexia charities, as well as LGBT charities. Two charities he was involved with were

The Albert Kennedy Trust Akt (stylised as akt and legally known as The Albert Kennedy Trust) is a voluntary organisation based in England, created in 1989 to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) young people who are homeless or living in a hostile enviro ...

, which supports

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

LGBT people and the

Terrence Higgins Trust Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...

which supports people living with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. After Digby died, Tim Sigsworth, chief executive of the Albert Kennedy Trust, said: "The young people cared for by the Trust were very close to Kristian's heart. The money donated in honour of his memory will go towards the newly named Kristian Digby Young Person of the Year Award which will be given out at the Albert Awards in London and Manchester. Donations will also directly improve the lives and life chances of young LGBT people who are facing homelessness after rejection by their families".

Personal life

Digby was openly gay. He claimed to have discovered his sexuality when he was studying for his degree in "Film, video and photographic arts" at the

(1995 to 1998). In 2006, he appeared in

Simon Fanshawe Simon Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe OBE (born 26 December 1956, in Devizes, England) is a writer and broadcaster. He contributes frequently to British newspapers, television and radio. He is also now a consultant and non-executive director of public a ...

's ''The Trouble with Gay Men'' and bemoaned the lack of gay role models, explaining how he refused to camp it up on TV, although he was known for his pole dancing skills excerpted on ''That Gay Show''.

Death

Digby's partner, Jason Englebrecht, returned from Africa on 28 February 2010, and tried to call Digby, but was unsuccessful in making contact or entering his home in

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, London. On the morning of 1 March, Englebrecht called Digby's neighbour (and tenant) who entered the two-bedroom house that Digby had built and lived in. She found Digby dead on his bed at 7:45 am on 1 March 2010. An ambulance was called; paramedics declared him dead at the scene. Digby's body was identified by his mother, Paula Dubois. Digby's post-mortem examination was held on 2 March 2010; the results were inconclusive. The police were satisfied that there was no third-party involvement and the press reported his death was caused by

auto-erotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done ...

. An

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

opened on 4 March 2010 at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

's Court; both his parents attended. On 9 November 2010, the coroner recorded a verdict of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, Kristian 1977 births 2010 deaths Alumni of the University of Westminster BBC television presenters English television directors English television presenters LGBT television directors English LGBT entertainers Mass media people from Torquay People educated at Bramdean School British LGBT broadcasters Accidental deaths in London Gay entertainers Television presenters with dyslexia