TOWIE’s James Argent attends the funeral of his close pal Tom Parker alongside Lydia Bright

James Argent attended the funeral of his close pal Tom Parker alongside his ex-girlfriend Lydia Bright in South East London on Wednesday.

Former TOWIE star ‘Arg’, 34, looked solemn as he arrived at the funeral as he was supported by Lydia, 31, who he split from in 2016.  

The reality star was a close friend of Tom and his wife Kelsey and performed at the couple’s 2018 stag do.

James recently shared a heartfelt tribute to ‘kind, caring and fun’ Tom as he lauded the singer for ‘helping him through tough times’. 

They previously worked together on The Jump and The Real Full Monty and James shared a selection of pictures and videos documenting their friendship after Tom’s death from brain cancer age 33.

One image showed the reality star in the midst of a Facetime call with The Wanted star, with another also seeing James attending the baby shower for Tom’s wife Kelsey.

James also shared several videos with Tom, including one of the pair singing together during a night out, and in his lengthy caption thanked the star for being a support during his own struggles.

Moving: The reality star, 34, was a close friend of Tom and his wife Kelsey and performed at the couple’s 2018 stag do

The star has openly discussed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, but he is now happily sober, even telling MailOnline his mother and best friends worried he would die due to his addiction. 

In the caption James wrote: ‘Tom was such a Kind, Caring & Fun person. A truly Lovely and Beautiful man who was so Strong & Positive. 

‘I’m so grateful for all the memories I have with you & the quality time we spent together. From those weeks in Austria taking part in ‘The Jump’ to us both stripping off & getting butt naked live on tv for ”The Real Full Monty”. 

‘Performing together at your stag do is something I’ll never forget & always cherish. Being at both your engagement & baby party meant the world to me. You & @being_kelsey have been great friends to me. All those video calls and advice you gave me really helped me through tough times. 

‘You & Kelsey are the definition of soulmates, The most solid & perfectly matched couple I’ve ever known. Your beautiful children will know how much of a legend there Dad was. I miss & love you mate.’

Tom’s death was announced by Kelsey in a heartbreaking Instagram post on March 30, after he was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma in October 2020, and given just 12 months to live by doctors. 

In September 2021, 11 months on from his diagnosis, Tom sang at the Stand Up 2 Cancer show at the Royal Albert Hall and even embarked on a Greatest Hits tour with his bandmates when the tumour was confirmed as ‘stable’ in November.

But Tom’s condition deteriorated rapidly once the tour came to an end earlier this year.  

The tragic news of his death was confirmed by his wife Kelsey who he leaves behind along with their two children, Aurelia and Bodhi.