The 999 call telling emergency services that a man had drowned in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool has been released for the first time.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead at the entertainer’s Essex home just before 6am in 2001 during a party, but his death remains unexplained.

In the call, a man is heard swearing a lot as he says: “A geezer’s drowned in the pool. A fella’s drowned in the pool.”

The call handler, having confirmed where the ambulance should go, then appears shocked by the revelation a man has drowned in the pool.

He says: “Right… sorry?”

Responding to a question on whether the man is still in the pool, the caller says: “No, we’ve got them out.

“There’s a party going on and erm, someone’s just gone out and found him.

“I tell you what mate, the first time I’ve been out in four f****** years.

“I have me kids every week and f****** hell. You don’t expect it do you?”

The call handler then says an ambulance is being turned around and somebody should be out on the road to meet them.

“F****** hell, I think the geezer’s dead mate,” the caller adds.

The audio recording is part of a Channel 4 documentary exploring Mr Lubbock’s death.

Barrymore was one of the UK’s best-known TV presenters when Mr Lubbock’s body was discovered at his then home in Roydon.

The entertainer, now 67, was arrested in 2007 over the death but has maintained he is “100% innocent” and has never been charged with any offence.

Mr Lubbock’s father Terry has told Barrymore it is “time to either clear your name or put your hands up”.

Earlier this week, Mr Lubbock said: “I think the people who were there in Michael Barrymore’s home on that day, on that night, are thinking it hasn’t gone away, it won’t go away.

“Even the people who aren’t directly involved in this must be starting to feel very, very uneasy, and it’s time now for them.

“The penny’s dropped now. It’s time for people to come forward, whether they are directly involved or indirectly involved. Any bit of information they have got, they must come forward with that.”

He has also called for a fresh post-mortem and inquest for his son after the original post-mortem revealed he had suffered serious anal injuries, with an open verdict recorded in 2002.

In the upcoming documentary, Mr Lubbock says Barrymore “helped me enormously” by keeping the case in the public eye.

Essex Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings told the programme he believes Stuart Lubbock was “raped and murdered that night”, saying he may have been held down.

He said Mr Lubbock’s injuries were too severe to have been consensual or self-inflicted.

On the “balance of probabilities” it was “likely more than one person was involved”, the officer said.

Essex Police and Crimestoppers are now offering a £20,000 reward for information.

Barrymore: The Body In The Pool will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Thursday.