James Argent pays tribute to ‘dear mate’ Jake Hall who he ‘loves and misses’

Reality TV star James Argent has paid tribute to his “dear mate” Jake Hall who he said he “loves and misses so much”, following his sudden death aged 35.

The former The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) star, nicknamed “Arg”, has taken to social media to remember his co-star who he described as having “infectious energy” and as “one of a kind”.

Argent, 38, posted a behind-the-scenes video alongside Hall during a photoshoot, after hitting a “huge weight-loss goal”, and told his almost one million followers how “lucky” he was to have that “beautiful memory” together.

Beneath the video, Argent wrote: “I’ve been processing the loss of my dear mate Jake. Watching videos, looking through photos, listening to voice notes and reading messages from our friendship. It hurts real bad.

“This footage was taken around four years ago as I’d just hit a huge weight-loss goal. Jake was so proud of me, he organised a full shoot with a videographer/photographer using his own clothing designs at his studio in east London.”

Argent recounted feeling “unsure” about the photoshoot but said TV star Hall “insisted”, adding: “He did this because he wanted me to finally feel good about myself. He gave me so much confidence. He spent the day raising me up.

“We didn’t stop laughing and had so much fun together. I’m so lucky to have this beautiful memory.

“Jake had infectious energy and was one of a kind. Love and miss my mate so much.”

The comments were flooded with supporters, fans and fellow friends of Hall offering their well-wishes, including former Towie co-stars Billie Shepherd, Danielle Armstrong and Ferne McCann.

Reality TV star Hall joined the cast of Towie in 2015 and dated co-star Chloe Lewis before quitting in 2024, and ran a menswear brand called By Jake Hall.

Tributes have poured in for Hall over the last few days, and soap star Ryan Thomas posted a heartfelt message on Sunday morning during which he revealed the last text he received from the TV star.

He shared a black-and-white video compilation of himself with Hall to his 1.3 million followers and praised him as “always the coolest guy in the room”, who had “class, charisma” and a “magic about him that nobody else had”.

Referring to the TV star’s eight-year-old daughter River, Thomas also wrote: “His next chapter is written in the stars now and it’s all about River. I promise she’ll grow up surrounded by love and stories about how inspiring and powerful her daddy is.”

The mother of his child posted a message to Instagram on Saturday saying that her and her daughter’s hearts were “shattered”.

Albanian model Misse Beqiri shared photos of herself, Hall and their daughter together and said that the influx of messages following his death was “both heartbreaking and beautiful all at once”.

The Real Housewives Of Cheshire star also described how she loved Hall from “the very first moment I saw you”, and said: “You left behind your mini version, our River, and for that we are forever grateful. You will always live on through her, and you will forever be with us.”

Other celebrities to pay tribute included Hall’s friend and former Towie co-star Vas J Morgan who wrote on Instagram that his death was a “deeply difficult loss” and that he wished they had more time together.

Former Made In Chelsea star Akin Solanke also posted a photo with Hall on Instagram and wrote: “If I never told you how much you inspired me, I hope you knew regardless.”

On Wednesday, celebrity DJ Fat Tony shared a tribute to social media and said: “Devastating news we love you @jakehall such an awful loss to the world you beautiful man x.”