The 2009 charity music video for Chris Rea's festive classic, 'Driving Home For Christmas', is remembered as an iconic, star-studded celebration of the season. However, following the singer's tragic death on Monday, the joyful clip now carries a profoundly bittersweet weight for those who took part.
A Video Now Filled With Memory
TV personality Lizzie Cundy, who featured prominently in the video, has spoken emotionally about revisiting the footage. She revealed that watching it now brings her to tears, as it serves as a poignant reminder of the multiple cast members who have since died. The video has unwittingly become a memorial to lost friends and colleagues.
Chris Rea passed away at the age of 74 after a short illness, his family confirmed in a statement. The Middlesbrough-born musician, who wrote and performed the timeless track, had faced serious health issues for years, including pancreatic cancer and diabetes. His death marks a third devastating loss for his family in just three months, following the passing of his brother Nicholas in October and his sister Geraldine shortly after.
The Cast Members Lost
Rea is not the only familiar face from the video no longer here. The clip's history is marked by several untimely losses:
- Kristian Digby, the TV presenter best known for To Buy or Not To Buy, died in 2010 aged just 32. His death was recorded as misadventure.
- Lionel Blair, the beloved Canadian-British actor and choreographer, who danced with Lizzie in the video, died in 2021 at 92.
- Ewen Macintosh, the Welsh actor, passed away in 2024 at the age of 50 after two years of ill health.
'Tragically in that video, there's so many that have died,' Lizzie told the Daily Mail. 'There's been a lot of tragedy... It felt there was something darker in the end about it because so many tragic things happen to people that appeared in the video.'
Personal Reflections and a Kind Legacy
Beyond the collective grief, the video also coincides with personal chapters for its stars. Lizzie Cundy divorced her footballer husband Jason not long after filming. Model Gail Porter appeared in the clip four years after losing her hair to alopecia.
Amidst the sadness, Lizzie fondly remembered Chris Rea as 'probably one of the kindest people' she had ever met. 'He didn't like the fame, didn't like the red carpet,' she recalled. 'He just loved the music and wanted to make people happy.'
The song itself remains a perennial fixture, re-entering the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007. Rea's final social media post, shared just a day before his death, fittingly referenced the song's lyrics, hoping for a 'smooth' journey. For those left behind, the video is now a cherished but heartbreaking capsule of joy, friendship, and profound loss.
