Mark Speight

Mark Speight

Mark Warwick Fordham Speight (6 August 1965 – 7 April 2008) was an English television presenter, best known as the host of children's art programme SMart. Speight grew up in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, and left school at 16 to become a cartoonist. He took a degree in commercial and graphic art and, while working in television set construction, heard of auditions for a new children's art programme. Speight was successful in his audition and became one of the first presenters of SMart, working on it for 14 years.

Speight was also a presenter on See It Saw It, where he met his future fiancée Natasha Collins. He took part in live events, such as Rolf on Art and his own Speight of the Art workshops for children. He was involved in charity work; he became the president of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign's Young Pavement Artists Competition, and was a spokesperson for ChildLine.

In January 2008 Speight found the body of Collins in the bath of their London flat. He was arrested on suspicion of her murder, but not charged with any offence. An inquest later determined Collins had died of a drug overdose and severe burns from hot water. In April Speight was reported missing and committed suicide by hanging himself near Paddington Station. Two suicide notes were discovered a few days later, describing how he could no longer live without Collins.