Simon Foster, 40, a popular father of two, died in a flat in Whitehawk

A star of reality TV show Wife Swap has been found dead after a suspected drug overdose.

The body of Simon Foster was found in a flat in Whitehawk after his marriage collapsed. Mr Foster, a father of two, appeared in the eighth series of the Channel 4 programme in October last year.

The angle promoted by programme-makers RDF was that Simon and his wife Jane lived an alternative lifestyle. But after the programme was screened Mr Foster's life spiralled out of control, he lost his job as a van driver and became homeless. Police have begun an investigation into the 40-year-old's death.

Last night the makers of Wife Swap defended the way they handled the couple and said they had offered him help after the show was aired. The Wife Swap website gives a taster of RDF's view of the Fosters' way of life. It says: "The free-spirited Fosters are a family with a difference - Jane and Simon both have girlfriends outside of the marriage.

"Mum Jane sleeps in the bedroom while dad Simon sleeps on the sofa. Despite their unusual arrangement Simon and Jane feel the relationship works for them and continue to live together in their Brighton home with their two children."

Jane had to live with the Hendersons, Rob and his two teenage sons, in Bourne End, near Windsor, Berkshire, for nine days.

In an interview with The Argus the day before the Wife Swap episode was aired, Mrs Foster said: "The family I stayed with were very different to us - a traditional family with an extremely Victorian method of bringing up their kids and running their home.

While Mrs Foster was in Berkshire, Debbie Henderson came down to Brighton to live with Mr Foster, their children aged seven and nine, two dogs and five cats.

On the filming of the programme, Mrs Foster said: "The TV company has an image of you they want to portray and they goad you into behaving how they want you to behave.

"There's an awful lot of pressure on you in the two months leading up to filming. I was away for nine days but the programme disrupts your life for several months. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed you are mic'ed up. You can take the mic off when you go to the toilet and that's it. You aren't allowed to have contact with your own family. I missed my kids terribly."

The Foster family underwent huge changes after filming, part of which was shown in followup programme Wife Swap: The Aftermath, which Mr Foster refused to appear in.

Mrs Foster moved near her girlfriend in Derbyshire with the children. The Fosters divorced and sold their home in Brighton. Mr Foster was found dead in a flat in Whitehawk on April 15. A friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "Simon was a good man who loved his kids. He hit a bad patch after the divorce and started taking drugs. I'm sure his death was an accidental overdose."

A spokeswoman for RDF Media Group, the makers of Wife Swap said: "All Wife Swap contributors are offered support both during and after filming and this care was of course available to Simon Foster. Our sincere condolences go out to Simon's family at this time."

An inquest into Mr Foster's death will be held in Brighton on July 24.

11:33am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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