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The family of a Coronation Street “superfan” who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing identified his body by a Deirdre Barlow tattoo on his leg, they said.
Martyn Hett’s father and siblings made a video showing his talents as a social media star and soap opera impressionist, and exhorted others to “be more Martyn.”
“Over the years, Martyn made a lot of funny videos, enjoyed by many around the world. We hope it lives up to his high standards,” said his father.
In the video he was seen making impressions of Deirdre Barlow and Audrey Roberts, characters from the soap opera.
There were also clips of his appearances on Channel Four’s Come Dine with Me and Tattoo Fixers.
In the second he had a photo of Deirdre Barlow, while the character, played by Anne Kirkbride, was in prison, tattooed on her leg.
His father told the investigation: “Sadly, this was one of the reasons we were able to identify him so soon after the tragedy. After all, who else would have such a thing?”
He said his son “loved life with passion, courage and laughter,” and encouraged others to “be more Martyn,” the title of a play written about him.
“In your life, you just have to do it, just do it and not skip anything,” Hett said. “This is how Martyn lived her life and we should all be more Martyn.”
Anne Kirkbride with a wax model of her Coronation Street character Deirdre Barlow
Paul Hett spoke alongside his wife, Kath, Martyn’s stepmother, and their other children, Dan and Matthew, in a movie taken in their backyard.
He said in the investigation that his son was “so full of energy that it would take hours and only scratch the surface.”
As a teenager, “he steeled himself to tell us he was gay after stressing about it for a long time.”
“It was something that had been obvious to us for a long time,” Hett said. “We sat him down and told him we didn’t love him because he was straight or gay, we love him because he was Martyn.”
As a child he constantly invented plays and forced his siblings to participate “whether they wanted to or not.”
As an adult, he worked as a social media manager for a public relations company called Rumpus and began posting his own “each and every one with Martyn” videos.
“One constant thing was that everyone was having fun,” her father said.
Martyn Hett even has a fishing boat named after him in the Gambia, his father said.
“We have no idea how that happened, as he had never been there, but such was his influence,” Hett added.
His brother, Dan, described Martyn as “by far the most confident” of the siblings, saying he was “the loudest, the showman, the center of attention.”
“It’s been three years, but I’m still going to text him,” he added.
The family has their favorite photographs of their son at home.
“We want to see them, but every time we do they break our hearts,” his father told the investigation.
Breaking down in tears, her father added, “His future was so bright. He had just been promoted and was ready for the vacation of a lifetime. This was incredibly cruel.
“Due to Martyn’s huge following on social media, people have asked us many, many times, is Martyn Hett his son? We reply with all the pride in the world: ‘Yes, Martyn is our son.’
