Pete Doherty has responded to a recent Channel 4 documentary which explored the death of Mark Blanco in 2006.
Titled Pete Doherty, Who Killed My Son?, the documentary aired last month and looked into the passing of 30-year-old Mark Blanco, who died while attending a party that The Libertines and Babyshambles singer was also at.
Held at the East London flat of Paul Roundhill, the incident took place in 2006 when the actor fell from the first-story balcony and died of a sustained head injury. Doherty has always denied any knowledge of how Blanco came to lie dying on the pavement after going over the stairwell balcony. Following an investigation, the police brought no charges against Doherty.
In the documentary, Blanco’s mother Sheila explained that she didn’t believe that her son fell to his death accidentally, as police had previously ruled, and CCTV footage was shown of the incident taking place. Here, experts also reviewed the clip from the moment Blanco lost his life.
“It’s absolutely callous. A reprehensible lack of humanity,” said Sheila in the programme, which saw her urge police to re-open their investigation and ask more questions of those present for a better understanding. “He was definitely pushed over, thrown over, but the Metropolitan Police do not wish to uncover what the truth is. It’s not the job of a mother to investigate her son’s death.”
Now, Doherty has spoken out about the incident for the first time since the programme was broadcast, and shared his sympathies with Blanco’s mother.
“There is no new information to have. The further away we get from that moment, whatever happened to Mark, the less likely we are to find out,” he told The Evening Standard.
“You have to just think, she’s lost her son,” he added. “Her feelings are valid so if her taking it out on me makes her feel better, let her do it.”
Previously, Doherty had also shared a statement to be included in the documentary which read: “I am sorry for Mrs Blanco’s loss and I welcome any assistance people can give her to come to terms with what happened.”
Elsewhere in the recent interview with The Evening Standard, Doherty’s wife and Puta Madres bandmate, Katie De Vidas revealed she was considering taking legal advice against the documentary.
Speaking with NME back in 2019, Doherty opened up about his struggles with addiction and looked back at the media headlines which have surrounded him throughout his career.
“Mark Blanco is different. That’s a very serious topic where I’m being accused of murdering someone’s son,” he explained. “You can’t do that. You can’t go around calling me a killer.”
Elsewhere, in January last year, the Libertines frontman also told NME about his album with Frédéric Lo, recalling how being drug-free inspired the project.
“I’ve been clean since December 2019, so at the time of writing this I was really white-knuckling it with the drugs and feeling like would only be a matter of time before I went back to it,” he said when asked about the lyrical inspiration.
“It hasn’t turned out to be that way, but there was that kind of kicking out at the new way of being clean and feeling like it was temporary,” he added. “Time passed, and I’ve managed to somehow keep on the straight and narrow, if it is indeed straight and narrow.”
In other Pete Doherty news, last month the trailer was shared for the indie veteran’s new documentary, Stranger In My Own Skin.
The film was made by Katia deVidas and will hit cinemas for selected screenings next month (November 9). According to the synopsis, it “follow[s] English punk singer-songwriter and Libertines’ legendary frontman, Peter Doherty, as he plunges into the depths of addiction at the very height of his popularity.”
“Over a period of 10 years, the artist was intimately filmed by director-musician Katia deVidas who shot more than 200 hours of exclusive footage,” it added. “Doherty shares, in his own words, his emotionally charged fight to overcome his demons as he emerges from darkness back into the light.”
Doherty will be also be the subject of an episode in the new series of Louis Theroux Interviews, due to air later this year. Drummer Gary Powell recently confirmed that a new Libertines album will be arriving in 2024.
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