Brooke Kinsella shared a touching tribute to her brother Ben on the 13th anniversary of his death on Tuesday.
Ben was stabbed to death in June 2008 on a night out with friends when he was just 16 years old.
Taking to Instagram to remember her brother, the former EastEnders actress, 37, wrote: ’13 years. Unthinkable. Unbearable. What a wonderful magical man you would be today. Love you forever and ever Benjamina.’
‘Unthinkable. Unbearable. What a wonderful magical man you would be today’: Brooke Kinsella shared a touching tribute to her brother Ben on the 13th anniversary of his death on Tuesday
Tragic loss: Ben was stabbed to death in June 2008 on a night out with friends when he was just 16 years old, and Brooke marked the anniversary with childhood pictures
Alongside the touching message, Brooke shared a collection of unseen family photographs – including some on holiday with their mum Debbie.
Despite their nine year age gap, Ben and Brooke were close friends as well as siblings.
In the childhood photos they could be seen posing together as Brooke put her arms around Ben as he sweetly held her hand.
From holidays as a toddler to playing as a child, Brooke showcased Ben’s happy childhood with the selection of pictures from family albums.
‘Love you forever’: Alongside the touching message, Brooke shared a collection of unseen family photographs including some of Ben on holiday with their mum Debbie Kinsella
Friends: Despite their nine year age gap, Ben and Brooke were close friends as well as siblings and sweetly posed together holding hands in the childhood photos
In one sweet snap, Ben could be seen surrounded by his friends as he made them all laugh and flashed a cheeky grin.
In another, he was dressed as the 118 man in a hilarious black wig, matching moustache and white vest top.
Brooke also showcased her brother’s love for music as she shared a photo of him as a teenager taking to the DJ decks in a white backwards cap.
Happy: Brooke showcased Ben’s childhood as she shared pictures from their family albums
Growing up: In one snap Ben could be seen petting their dog on the kitchen floor
The former EastEnders actress also shared some drawings Ben had done as a child at nursery.
One image read: ‘This is a train and a sunshine. By Ben’ with the date from February 7 in 1995.
Another included a sweet photo of Ben grinning that had been glued to the card alongside another cut out of him with friends going down the slide at their nursery.
Years ago: Ben could also be seen with a young Brooke surrounded by his friends as he made them all laugh and flashed a cheeky grin
Fancy dress: In another photo Ben dressed as the 118 man in a hilarious black wig, matching moustache and white vest top
Musical: Brooke showcased her brother’s love for music as she shared a photo of him as a teenager taking to the DJ decks in a white backwards cap.
The touching tribute comes after Brooke revealed on Loose Women earlier this year that her eight-month-old daughter Elsie resembles her late brother.
Brooke reflected on receiving a sign from Ben when she first discovered she was pregnant, and admitted her heart ‘broke all over again’ when she reflected on his tragic passing after becoming a parent.
The former Vital Signs star explained: ‘As soon as I bought the Clearblue packet, I saw the word BEN. It was him making his presence known.
‘Losing a sibling… who was one of my best friends… was hard. The thought of losing a child is utterly horrendous. Now I know what there is to lose, it broke my heart all over again.’
Touching: The former EastEnders actress also shared some drawings Ben had done as a child at nursery
Happy childhood: Another collage included a sweet photo of Ben grinning glued to the card and cut out of him with friends going down the slide at their nursery
Brooke also claimed her little girl resembles her deceased uncle as she added: ‘My mum sent me a picture of Ben the other day and they are twins.
‘It gave me Goosebumps. He was laid back and happy and touch wood, Elsie has been like that. It sounds ridiculous as she’s only four months.’
The media personality went on to touch on the impact of Ben Kinsella Trust, a foundation she created to raise awareness about tackling knife crime.
‘It gave me goosebumps’: The touching tribute comes after Brooke revealed on Loose Women earlier this year that her baby daughter Elsie resembles her late brother
Brooke stated: ‘My family started the foundation around the table. We wanted a legacy for him and also wanted it to not happen to anyone else. I’d love there to be a day where we don’t need to foundation, but it continues to happen.
‘All we want to do is to get Ben’s story out to many people as possible. We’ve got these online lesson plans which are doing really well. Despite people losing jobs, we’re still getting loads of donations.
Brooke vowed to ‘carry on her brother Ben’s legacy,’ as she opened an anti-knife crime exhibition in Nottingham last June.
Tragic loss: Since she stopped acting, Brooke has campaigned to tackle knife crime in honour of brother Ben, who was just 16 when he was killed (pictured)