Tara Palmer-Tomkinson 'broke down in tears and pledged to make her family proud' in final interview before her death

Chloe Chaplain11 February 2017

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson broke down in tears and spoke of her desire to make her family proud of her again in what is thought to have been her final interview.

The 45-year-old socialite was found dead in her beloved west London flat on Monday.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious and her family announced the star “died peacefully in her sleep”.

In an interview before her sudden death, she told the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine of her "unending quest" to make them proud.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson - In pictures

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The reality TV star said she wanted "to make my family proud of me again. I've put them through a lot".

The nineties It-girl was admitted to an American rehab facility in 1999 for was what was reportedly a £400-a-day cocaine habit.

In an article he wrote for Press Gazette, journalist Rob McGibbon described conducting the interview.

He wrote: "Hearing herself say such a profoundly painful sentiment made her cry. It made me well up, too. It still does."

West London: Police outside the star's home 
PA

He added: "Those words were disarmingly revealing. They encapsulated Tara's lasting regret for her past, but also her longing and hope for a better future."

In the interview Palmer-Tomkinson also said her "unfulfilled ambition" was to get back to full health.

In January last year she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and in November said that she had feared dying when doctors told her about the growth in her pituitary gland.

At the time, she also revealed she was suffering with an auto-immune disease that caused tiredness, joint pain and acute anaemia.

Asked what she would like the order of service at her funeral to be like, Palmer-Tomkinson said she would want a simple service. She said she would want to be remembered "like a Bernese mountain dog - cheerful, beautiful and loved by all".

A death notice posted by her family in the Daily Telegraph said: "Tara Clare died peacefully in her sleep." It added that a private funeral will be held.

Party girl: Tara in one of her famous outfits 
Rex Features

Her sister, Santa Montefiore, shared a black and white photo of the socialite on Instagram the day after she died at her Earl’s Court apartment with the words: "My darling sister. I miss you."

Tributes from celebrities have poured in for Ms Palmer-Tomkinson.

Her friends the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were among the first to pay tribute.

The royal couple said they were "deeply saddened and our thoughts are so much with the family" shortly after the news broke.

Former Blue singer Duncan James, who was once romantically linked to Palmer-Tomkinson, wrote a tribute in The Sun saying: "Tara had a cheeky, naughty, mischievous side that I loved. She would always make me smile and laugh in ways that nobody else could."

Ivan Massow, former chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), told ITV's This Morning they were "unlikely friends" after they "hit it off" when they shared a car to a charity event at Ascot.

Best friends: Blue singer Duncan James paid tribute to the star 
Jorge Herrera/Getty Images

But he said that in recent weeks it had been difficult to get hold of Palmer-Tomkinson, who, due to years of drug abuse, had reconstructive surgery on her nose in 2006 after her septum collapsed.

He told This Morning: "I hadn't seen her for over a month, and it's been hard to reach her.

"With people like this, you have to sort of let go with love... you can't badger them."

Asked if he thought she had returned to a "dark place", Mr Massow said: "Well, I know that every time I didn't hear from her, that's where she was... ".

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