The reason behind the death of a BBC child star, who died at the age of 20, has been revealed through an inquest. Imogen Moorsom was a gifted French horn player who managed to wow the nation and took part in the finals of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year 2022. From there Imogen went on to play in the National Youth Orchestra.
Sadly, in August 2024, the 20-year-old was found dead in her bedroom in Milton Abba, Dorset. She was tragically found by her mother, Rosemary, who had thought she was asleep.
The young musician was pronounced dead at the scene and the Express reports that the post-mortem examination confirmed she died from strangulation. An inquest has since revealed that Imogen took her own life after being rejected by four medical schools.
A statement from the young star’s mum to the inquest said: “On August 12 I woke up at approximately 8am. Imogen went up to bed at around 11.30pm the night before and this was the last time I saw her.
“I went into her room at about 11.40am to let the cat in and I thought she was sleeping in. I saw her bedside light was on which was odd.”
Her mother added, as reported by MailOnline, that at the time she did not administer any CPR because Imogen was already “cold to the touch” when she found her. The inquest also heard that Imogen “struggled to live up to her very high standards” and had “not been able to accept her failure to get into medical school”.
Imogen, who had been diagnosed with autism, had started to struggle with some mental health issues during the Covid lockdown, which then affected her further education as she decided to drop out of university after starting in 2022.
During her time off, she applied to four top medical schools, but was unfortunately rejected from each of them. However, she did manage to secure a place at Lancashire University to study natural sciences and was planning to move there.
Despite this positive application, her mental health took a major hit due to the rejections and she ended up being taken to The Priory Hospital in Southampton.
The MailOnline reported that the psychiatrist that treated Imogen at the hospital, Dr Tessa Jones, said: “She had not been able to accept her failure to get into medical school. She was an intelligent person who was very popular but sometimes struggled to live up to her very high standards.
“She disclosed to me her views about moving to Lancaster. She planned to get a job in a café to help her financially. She had clearly planned for the future. She said in July she was feeling better and was looking forward to going to university.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. Alternatively, you can find more information on the Samaritans website.
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