Former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr’s mum Dawn Searle, 56, and her husband Andrew, 62, were both found dead at their holiday home in the southwest of France this week
Former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr walked his mum down the aisle just 18 months before she was killed alongside her husband in France.
Dawn and Andrew Searle tied the knot in September 2023, with proud Callum giving his beloved mum away at the ceremony which he donned a tartan kilt for, suggesting it took place in their native Scotland. His 56-year-old mum was seen beaming in a long white dress as she clutched a posy of flowers.
In the post the 30-year-old actor wrote: “Not many people can say they walked their own mother down the aisle. What a pleasure!!! I love you mum. Congrats to Dawn and Andy on their wonderful wedding day and here’s to a tremendous life together for the happy couple.”
The comments section of the post was filled with messages of congratulations for Callum and his family. But, heartbreakingly, two years on messages of condolence are now being added to the post. Tragically, Dawn, 56, and Andy, 62, were found dead by a neighbour at their holiday home in Les Pesquiès, southwest France on Thursday, February 7. French officials believe the deaths “were clearly a homicide”. Mrs Searle was found with a head injury close to the front door and was surrounded by scattered jewellery. Reports claim her husband, Mr Searle, might have been tortured before being killed.
On Friday, investigators said the couple could have been targeted by French ‘gangsters’, as Mr Searle had been a former organised crime investigator. Autopsies are set to take place on Monday with investigators examining the crime scene for clues.
No weapons were found at the couple’s holiday home and no bullet or knife wounds were found during an examination of their bodies, a source told French outlet La Depeche du Midi. Regional prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller, who is leading the investigation, said: “Both died a violent death – all leads are being examined.”
Mrs Searle’s son is Callum Kerr, who was born in 1994 in Musselburgh near Edinburgh. He shot to fame in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks after landing his breakthrough role as PC George Kiss between 2020 and 2021. He later went on to star in Netflix series Virgin River and had a recurring role in Fox series Monarch.
As well as being an actor, Callum – who is yet to publicly speak about the deaths – is also a country singer based in Nashville, Tennessee. On his Instagram account, which has 561,000 followers, he posted a video singing his latest song Cold Beer Cold four days ago before the tragic news about his mother broke.
In September 2024, Scottish star Callum announced his own engagement to girlfriend Lauren Stacy. “Took this girl on a horse ride through the Western Cape and asked if she would spend the rest of her life with me,” he posted, much to his fans’ joy. His former Hollyoaks co-star Billy Price, who played Sid Sumner, was quick to congratulate the happy couple as he commented: “Congrats bro.”
Months earlier in April 2024, Callum and Lauren announced the birth of their first child together, a baby girl. Their little one is thought to have arrived a bit earlier in the year as there are some baby snaps from January. Though the pair haven’t revealed what they can called her.
In February 2024, Callum posted a short video of Lauren with their little one as he wrote: “Happy V Day to my two girls – you make everything worthwhile.” A post from May, also sharing snaps of his daughter, the proud dad told fans: “This year has been nuts behind the scenes. Nothing in the TV or music industry happens fast – and I can’t wait to share more music and acting stuff. This is what I’ve been up to.” He hasn’t posted anything on social media since Thursday, which is when the tragic news about his mum broke.
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