Zoe Ball's boyfriend had laughed and joked in the hours before he was found dead at his home in Putney, "heartbroken" neighbours said.

Antiques Roadshow cameraman Billy Yates, 40, was discovered by a friend inside his flat yesterday evening (May 4).

Officers and ambulance crews were at the flat above Chaps convenience store in Lower Richmond Road from 6pm until late.

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A couple who live above the flat described Mr Yates as happy and said he had lived there for about 18 months.

The wife of the couple, who asked not to be named, said: "He was always happy and smiling and would always have a chat with you.

"He was a lovely neighbour, always smiling and would talk.”

The woman said recently he was spending more time away and she never saw his TV personality girlfriend at the flat.

Her husband, who works in the corner shop downstairs, said he last saw Mr Yates at 10am yesterday morning when he bought a bottle of soft drink.

He said: "We just met like we normally do and chatted. He said hello and we chatted a little bit.

"I can't remember what the conversation was about but I know we laughed.

"He seemed completely normal like when I saw him before."

Asked what he felt when he heard about Mr Yates’s death, the neighbour said: "When I first heard he was dead my heart was literally broken and I was almost in tears.

"There was no indication he was depressed at all. He was always cheerful and playing his music. It's just very, very sad."

Strictly Come Dancing presenter Ms Ball, 46, had only recently expressed her love for Mr Yates, who was believed to have given her a new lease of life since her marriage split from Norman Cook aka DJ Fatboy Slim.

The Radio 2 DJ showed support for the Samaritans just hours before Mr Yates was found yesterday, when she retweeted a post on Twitter which said: "If it really doesn't feel like the force is with you today, we're here and ready to listen #TalkToUs."

A Met Police spokesman confirmed: "Police were called to a residential address in Lower Richmond Road, Putney, south London at 6.40pm on Thursday May 4, to reports of a man found deceased.

"Officers attended alongside staff from the London Ambulance Service, and a man believed to be aged 40 was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The circumstances are not being treated as suspicious, and the coroner has been informed."