Published: December 8th, 2011
by GEORGIA GRAHAM

A HIGH-FLYING television executive who died from an overdose of drugs had sought help for stress at work, an inquest has heard.

Sarah Mulvey, 34, who was found dead at her home in Well Walk, Hampstead, in January last year had been “systematically bullied” by bosses at Channel 4, St Pancras Coroner’s Court was told on Tuesday.

Coroner Dr Andrew Reid heard Ms Mulvey died of “opiate toxicity”. Before her death she had sought treatment at the Causeway retreat clinic in Essex, also used by Amy Winehouse. 

Dr Christopher Mulvey, an emeritus mathematics lecturer at the University of Sussex, told the inquest his daughter’s mental state had declined after “she had been systematically bullied by her managers at Channel 4 television”.

Ms Mulvey had enjoyed a “meteoric” rise at the station after moving over from radio. She was a commissioning editor at the channel by the age of 30, working on hit shows such as How To Look Good Naked.

Her father added: “In April 2009 she was working absolutely full pelt. She was an extremely hard worker because she loved her job. She was able to function in a high-achieving way right up until the moment when she said: ‘Enough, I have to take some time out and I need to take it somewhere where I can have treatment to help me recover as quickly as possible so I can return to the job I love.’

“And people loved her doing that job. She was very highly regarded in that job.”

Her boyfriend, Mark Gillett, said her condition worsened in 2008 due to “stress in relation to dealing with an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive working environment”.

However, Dr Mulvey said his daughter went “steadily downhill” once she checked into The Causeway, which has now closed following an inquiry by the Care Quality Commission and legal proceedings about its registration as a hospital.

“She was clearly in a very bad way psychologically,” he told the coroner. He added that she had “turned into someone in a much, much worse position”.

Brendan Quinn, a registered nurse and director of the clinic, denied that, when at the clinic, Ms Mulvey had “stockpiled” the drugs she overdosed on.

However, Paul Spencer, the lawyer representing the family, said that a “suitcase full of prescription medication that had no labels and no dates” had been discovered under a bed at the retreat.

On her return to Hampstead Ms Mulvey entered a crisis centre in Drayton Park, Islington.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: “We feel very deeply for Sarah’s family and partner at this difficult time. Sarah’s tragic death shocked and saddened everyone who knew her at Channel 4.

“Since then we have worked with the Mulvey family to support them and to celebrate Sarah’s career and achievements.”

The inquest was adjourned until next year.