British singer Lil' Chris found dead aged 24

March 25, 2015

, an English singer and television personality, died on Monday, police reported that day. The 24-year-old Chris Hardman was found dead at an address in,. said they were not treating it as a suspicious death. Hardman came to fame as Lil' Chris after appearing on the Channel 4 reality television show .

Rock School in 2006 featured a student rock band that frontman  created. Hardman was chosen to be the bands lead singer by Simmons. Speaking to , Simmons paid tribute to Hardman. He said "Lil Chris was a kind, little soul. I will greatly miss his smile and his spirit. I knew there was something special about him as soon as I met him".

More tributes came from other celebrities. band member paid tribute to Hardman on ; he posted alongside a photograph of him, "So sad to hear about Lil Chris. He was such a genuinely sweet and funny guy, we had some awesome times. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends." Boxer praised him as a "super-talented kid"; Ogogo and Hardman both went to Kirkley High School.

Hardman's most successful hit was , his debut single in 2006, which made it to number three on the. He released his last album in 2008 but had recently announced plans of a musical comeback on Twitter.

Prior to his death Hardman had spoken about his battle with depression on Twitter. He once tweeted "Depression really sucks. Learning how to notice it can save lives and your own feelings at times. Take time to understand it, for everybody." Since his death has been announced the suicide helpline charity have released a statement. They said "If anyone has been affected by this news, or is struggling to cope, we would like to let people know that Samaritans is here for them if they need to talk."