Television star Michael Barrymore is expected to give evidence when an inquest into the death of a man at his home begins on Monday.

Stuart Lubbock, a 31-year-old butcher from Harlow in Essex, was declared dead shortly after being found in his underwear in Mr Barrymore's swimming pool on 31 March, last year.

A post-mortem indicated that Mr Lubbock, a father of two, had drowned and that he had also suffered sexual injuries.

Police said Mr Lubbock had spent the evening at a nightclub in Harlow, before returning to Mr Barrymore's home in nearby Roydon with the entertainer and a number of other men.

Stuart Lubbock was found dead in Barrymore's pool

Mr Barrymore, 50, and another man were arrested and questioned by detectives following Mr Lubbock's death.

No charges were brought but Mr Barrymore was given a police caution for possessing cannabis.

'Sexual activities'

The hearing, before Essex coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray in Epping, is expected to last at least a week.

At a pre-inquest hearing in July Mrs Beasley-Murray said : "I'm very conscious that this inquest is the investigation into a death and not into various people's social and sexual activities.

"However, where necessary, such matters will be touched upon, and it will be a matter for me to constantly consider the parameters of the inquiry."

The Crown Prosecution Service said there were no grounds for criminal charges relating to Mr Lubbock's death, and in March this year Essex Police said no further action would be taken.