Matty Lock death: Holly Willoughby and This Morning broadcast tribute to guest and Labour councillor after he died aged just 19

• Matty Lock was a Labour councillor in his hometown of Maghull, Merseyside
• This Morning paid tribute to ‘truly unique’ and ‘lovely’ member of the studio

Holly Willoughby and This Morning have led the tributes to guest Matty Lock after he suddenly died aged 19. 

Willoughby and co-presenter Dermot O’Leary paid tribute to a ‘truly unique’ and ‘lovely’ member of the studio. 

The ‘delightful’ teenager regularly appeared on the show to review vacuum cleaners, which he had become obsessed with since the age of two when he received his first toy Henry hoover.

The popular youngster was also a member of the Labour Party and recently spoke of his pride at becoming councillor in his hometown of Maghull, Merseyside. 

Sharing the news at the start of Monday’s programme, O’Leary said: One of the This Morning family members Matty Lock – you might remember Matty – sadly passed away this weekend.’

Holly Wiloughby and Dermot O’Leary led an emotional to ‘ a lovely guy’ and ‘much loved’ member of the team Matty Lock

Matthew Lock, 19, known as Matty  sadly passed away suddenly at the age of 19

Wiloughby said that Matty ‘never failed to bring joy and more to our studio’

Matty had an ‘infectious passion’ for gadgets and was fascinated with vacuum cleaners since the age of two

Willoughby added: ‘He was a much-loved member of our team who never failed to bring joy and more to our studio with an infectious passion for gadgets and technology. He was truly unique.’

O’Leary continued: ‘Yeah, bless him. His love for vacuum cleaners started when he was just two years old when he received his first toy Henry. 

‘He then went on to become a politician, a campaigner and a much loved member of this show. He’s a lovely guy.’

‘Matthew will be missed by all of us here and we extend our deepest condolences to his family. It was incredibly sad, shocking news to get yesterday’, finished Willoughby.

Deputy leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner sent her ‘love and prayers’ to his friends and family today after his death was announced. He died yesterday.

She was among the hundreds of people who took to social media to express their sadness in an outpouring of love. 

This Morning paid tribute on X – formerly known as Twitter – to Matty, also known as Matthew, while presenters of the show expressed their heartbreak.   

‘Everyone at This Morning is shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Matty Lock, aged just 19,’ they said. 

‘He was a delightful young man, a joy to work with and his passion for vacuum cleaners and general mechanics was infectious. 

‘His family came to the studio and they were so proud that he’d turned a childhood hobby into a career. We will miss him and send our condolences to his family.’

Holly Willoughby was left ‘shocked and saddened’ by his death. Writing on her Instagram in tribute, the mother of three said: ‘Matty was a wonderful person with a true passion for what he did… My love goes out to his friends and family at what must be a very difficult time.’ 

She added on X in reply to This Morning’s post: ‘Just so unbelievably sad… such a lovely and talented young man… sending my love to his friends and family, this must be such a difficult time.’ 

While Dermot O’Leary said: ‘Awful news. What a lovely guy.’ And Rylan Clark, who used to present on the daytime show, added: ‘God that’s really sad. Sending love x.’

Fellow This Morning regular Lynsey ‘Queen of Clean’ Crombie said: ‘Still in shock devastating news a huge part of the cleaning community since he was just 13.’ 

This Morning took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and said they were ‘shocked and saddened by his death. They said. ‘He was a delightful young man, a joy to work with and his passion for vacuum cleaners and general mechanics was infectious’

Holly Willoughby was among those to leave tributes for the teen. The mother of three described him as ‘a wonderful person with a true passion for what he did’

Matty alongside Holly Willoughby and former presenter Phillip Schofield. He appeared on the show aged 15 in a segment reviewing the best hoovers to buy

The news of the former private schoolboy’s death was confirmed by friend and Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson.

He wrote on X: ‘Many people will be devastated by the news that @CllrMLock passed away yesterday. 

‘Matty was a lovely young man who had achieved so much and had so many plans for the future. 

‘I’m thinking about him, his boundless enthusiasm and about his mum and dad. Rest in Peace, Matty.’

Ms Rayner shared Mr Esterson’s message and wrote: ‘Incredibly sad news, Matty did so much for his community. My love and prayers are with his friends and family.’

Labour North West expressed its ‘deepest condolences’ following Matty’s death. 

‘He had his whole life ahead of him, with huge potential who I know was admired and loved across our party,’ they said on X.

‘Our thoughts are with his mum and dad and family at this difficult time.’

Matty regularly appeared on This Morning from a young age, including at the age of 15 where he had a segment revealing the best hoovers to buy that summer. 

Private £4,569-a-term day school, Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, in Crosby, Liverpool, shared his appearance on the show on its website at the time. 

The news of the former private schoolboy’s death was confirmed by friend and Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson. He wrote on X: ‘Many people will be devastated by the news that @CllrMLock passed away’

Matty last posted on his Facebook page in April where he spoke of how he had ‘hit the ground running in delivering for Maghull and residents’ concerns and priorities’ since he had been elected.

At the age of 13 Matty had amassed 150 vacuums as part of his collection.   

He became interested in vacuums aged two when he got his first toy Henry. By the age of five he was hoovering the family home.

Speaking at the time, he said he was cleaning up by fixing old machines and selling them while carrying out repairs on every cleaner on the market.

He said: ‘I remember in year four or five having a rough idea how to take them apart and looking into how to make them run, that’s when the collecting started. 

‘I started finding machines, getting parts and being able to put them together to make a new vacuum.

‘I became more and more interested in getting rarer machines.

‘I like the way they work and seeing how they can be improved. I like seeing how they’ve advanced over the years – different machines do different jobs.

This Morning said ‘his family came to the studio and they were so proud that he’d turned a childhood hobby into a career. We will miss him’

‘I get them off eBay or on Facebook selling sites. I find them in skips and people have even started leaving them outside my back door.

‘Some of the Henrys I have are 40 years old. I like to fix them but if they’re beyond repair I will make a good one out of two hoovers.

‘My collection is mostly Henrys and Dysons. I’ve got original versions which are made out of metal and Bakelite. My collection is well into the hundreds now.

‘They are all in my workshop in my garden which is where I do all my vacuum repairs.’

He spent around ten hours a week fixing broken vacuums, and estimated he had fixed around 500 and sold 300 machines.

From the money he made out of selling on the fixed machines, he reinvested the cash into more broken vacuums.

He added: ‘I just find it so satisfying getting them from places like builder’s yards where they’re full of plaster – being able to clean them up, make them look nice and get them up to a really good standard.’

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