Tearful Holly Hagan says sister, 19, died just 48 hours after taking drug at Warehouse Project
The devastated former Geordie Shore star has described her sister’s final hours before she died in a Manchester hospital
12:15, 06 Dec 2025
Holly Hagan (right) with her sister Darci Rose(Image: hollyhaganblyth/Instagram)
Former Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan has described how her 19-year-old sister died just hours after taking drugs at the Warehouse Project in Manchester.
The devastated reality TV star broke down in tears as she told how her sister, Darci Rose Gibson, mixed crystal MDMA into her drink at the nightclub event in October. Within hours, she suffered two cardiac arrests.
The teenager was rushed to the Manchester Royal Infirmary but tragically died 48 hours later. Heartbroken Holly said the screams from her mother, Vicky, when Darci died will now be ‘etched’ into her mind forever.
She spoke to the Daily Mail about Darci’s final hours in the hope of raising awareness of the risk of recreational drugs. Holly described how Darci had been looking forward to the night out at the Warehouse Project as she ‘loved Manchester’.
“We all went to bed that night and around 5am I heard a light knock on my door, and I thought my son had woken up,” she told the Mail. “But I looked at my phone to see the time, and I had 130 missed calls.
“My heart dropped and you know when your whole body goes into panic. The first message I saw was in capital letters, saying ‘we are with your sister, you need to get to Manchester Royal Infirmary right now, please call us back’, and that was at 2am. My whole body was in fight mode; I sat on the toilet shaking.”
Holly, who is mum to Alpha-Jax, 2, and is expecting her second child with her footballer husband Jacob Blyth, said doctors told her when she arrived at the hospital that Darci had taken crystal MDMA – a class A drug. Holly said Darci had never taken the drug in crystal form before, but had experimented with drugs in the past at events like Creamfields. She said she put an ‘unknown quantity in her drink.
“My one regret is not messaging her saying ‘are you taking anything tonight? What are you taking? Please be careful’,” Holly said.
The reality star said she understands that some people may think Darci was ‘reckless’ for taking the drug, but that she was ‘always so sensible’ and would only do it ‘at these kind of events’. Holly said she believes that she was ‘naïve’ about how much of the drug she had poured into her drink in the ‘dark’ club.
Holly Hagan has described her sister’s final moments before her death(Image: Getty Images)
Holly described how her mum and stepdad broke down when doctors told them that Darci was brain dead two days after she was rushed in. She said seeing Darci, who had recently passed her driving theory test and was working as a cocktail waitress, in the ward hooked up to tubes and wires was ‘absolutely horrendous’.
Holly described the staff at the Manchester Royal Infirmary as ‘angels’ who looked after the whole family. She described how in her final act as big sister, she bought new pyjamas for Darci to wear and carefully brushed her hair as she said her goodbyes.
‘It can happen to anyone’
Holly now hopes that speaking out about her sister’s death will raise awareness of the risks of drugs and serve as a warning to young people. The reality star, who built her career on Geordie Shore where heavy drinking and nights out in Newcastle’s clubs were routines, has vowed to never taken a drug again.
She said is now wary of even taking simply painkillers. “I really want people to take from this that just because you have taken a drug before, and it hasn’t had a negative impact on you, it doesn’t mean you are safe”, Holly told the Mail.
“Every single time that you take a drug, you are playing with fire. As safe as you think you are being, what we have learned from this is that you can make a mistake and accidentally have slightly too much.
“You do not want your family to go through what we have gone through. I get that it’s a fun time on drugs and for the majority, they get to go home at the end of the night but for the one odd person, they don’t.”
Holly added: “If her story can prevent somebody, because you’re not immune, if this can happen to me and my family, it can happen to anyone. I would love to do a documentary one day and look at certain areas like where I grew up, why is drug use so prevalent?
“Why do we rely on drugs to have a good time when we’re young? Is there a way it can be done safely?”.
Holly added that her sister deserves empathy in the wake of her death. “She deserves compassion and empathy”, she said.
“She was a 19-year-old girl who made a mistake – and 90 per cent of the people in that club did the same thing and went home to their families the next day.”
Following her death, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: “On Sunday 19 October 2025 we were called by hospital staff to the concern for welfare of a 19-year-old woman who had fallen seriously ill after it is believed she had taken drugs. Sadly, the woman died in hospital Monday evening (20/10/2025).
“Our thoughts remain with her family at this difficult time. Enquiries are ongoing.”
