Jess Wright pays touching tribute to TOWIE legend Nanny Pat on the 5 year anniversary of her death

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Jess Wright has marked five years since her grandmother, Nanny Pat, passed away, with a touching Instagram post.

Captioning a smiling photo of her and Pat – who died in 2015 at 80 – Jess penned: ‘5 years ago today, heaven gained an angel. I can’t quite believe it’s been 5 whole years.

‘This day I lost one of my best friends & it hurt like hell. Miss you nan, love you!’ [sic]

Five years on: Jess Wright has marked five years since her grandmother, Nanny Pat, passed away, with a touching Instagram post

She went on to share her sympathies with other missing loved ones at Christmastime, noting that 2020 has been hard for everyone.

‘On that note, my heart goes out to anyone without their loved ones this Christmas,’ she went on. ‘It’s been a tough year, hold on its nearly over…’ [sic]

Jess’ TOWIE co-star Gemma Collins commented, ‘Jess she is with you always,’ with a slew of red hearts.

The likes of fellow stars Chloe Sims and Debbie Bright also commented, as did TOWIE voice-over Denise Van Outen.

Much missed: Jess' TOWIE co-star Gemma Collins commented, 'Jess she is with you always,' with a slew of red hearts

Much missed: Jess’ TOWIE co-star Gemma Collins commented, ‘Jess she is with you always,’ with a slew of red hearts

Captioning a smiling photo of her and Pat - who died in 2015 at 80 - Jess penned: '5 years ago today, heaven gained an angel. I can’t quite believe it’s been 5 whole years. 'This day I lost one of my best friends & it hurt like hell. Miss you nan, love you!' [sic]

Captioning a smiling photo of her and Pat – who died in 2015 at 80 – Jess penned: ‘5 years ago today, heaven gained an angel. I can’t quite believe it’s been 5 whole years. ‘This day I lost one of my best friends & it hurt like hell. Miss you nan, love you!’ [sic]

Beloved: Carol Wright shared a snap of Nanny Pat waving from the back of a carriage, as featured on an episode of TOWIE

Beloved: Carol Wright shared a snap of Nanny Pat waving from the back of a carriage, as featured on an episode of TOWIE

Missed: 'Five years today mumma you waved goodbye to us all. We miss you and think about you every day,' she wrote

Missed: ‘Five years today mumma you waved goodbye to us all. We miss you and think about you every day,’ she wrote

Carol Wright – who is Pat’s daughter, and mother to Jess and fellow TOWIE alum Mark – also shared a tribute.

‘Five years today mumma you waved goodbye to us all. We miss you and think about you every day,’ she wrote.

‘You was my mum, my queen my everything. I hope you having fun with dad’ [sic]

She shared a snap of Nanny Pat waving from the back of a carriage, as featured on an episode of TOWIE.

Missing her mum: Carol is Pat's daughter, and mother to Jess and fellow TOWIE alum Mark

Missing her mum: Carol is Pat’s daughter, and mother to Jess and fellow TOWIE alum Mark

Thoughful: She went on to share her sympathies with other missing loved ones at Christmastime, noting that 2020 has been hard for everyone

Thoughful: She went on to share her sympathies with other missing loved ones at Christmastime, noting that 2020 has been hard for everyone

Daughter-in-law Michelle Keegan was sure to send her love with a heart emoji underneath the snap.

Three weeks ago, Carol marked what would have been Pat’s 85th birthday, sharing an image of them together.

She captioned thus: ‘Happy birthday sweet mumma one kind beautiful lady, have a shandy with dad. Love you miss you more then ever. X ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️’ [sic]

Pat – offically Patricia Booker – was born in 1935, and initially turned down the chance of appearing on TOWIE alongside her family as she said she wanted to watch television, not be on it.

Jess wrote: 'On that note, my heart goes out to anyone without their loved ones this Christmas. It’s been a tough year, hold on its nearly over...' [sic]

Jess wrote: ‘On that note, my heart goes out to anyone without their loved ones this Christmas. It’s been a tough year, hold on its nearly over…’ [sic]

So loved: Mark shared a couple of images of himself with his nan, captioning them with a couple of broken heart emojis, when she died in 2015

So loved: Mark shared a couple of images of himself with his nan, captioning them with a couple of broken heart emojis, when she died in 2015

But she soon changed her mind and became one of the most loved characters on the show. 

She once said of her late husband: ‘It’s a shame that my Charlie wasn’t around to see us all on television. He wouldn’t believe it, but it’s really lovely.’ 

In 2012, she told the Daily Mail: ‘Mark started filming for the show and he kept talking about me to the producers and before I knew what was happening I was starring.

‘I told him it would just be a one-off thing but I can’t get out of it now. I can’t go anywhere without getting recognised these days because of the fame.’

She gained a fan following thanks to her frank attitude and witty one-liners.

She said: ‘I am a typical Essex girl, well I hope so! I am nice, but I am just plain, unlike all the young girls with their fake tans and big heels. I do love handbags though.’