George Michael's family 'touched beyond words' by tributes
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Angus Walker
George Michael's family have been "touched beyond words" by tributes to the late pop star.
The former Wham! singer's publicist described the wave of reaction to Michael's death on Christmas Day as an "incredible outpouring of love".
A statement on Tuesday read: "For someone whose life was ultimately about his music and the love he had for his family and friends, his fans and the world at large, there could be no more fitting tribute than the many, many, kind words that have been said and the numerous plays his records have received."
Praise for fans came hours after the star's boyfriend described how he found the 80s icon "lying peacefully" dead in bed on Christmas Day.
Writing on Twitter, Fadi Fawaz, who had been in a relationship with Michael since 2011, said of the pop star, "I will never stop missing you".
Mr Fawaz told the Daily Telegraph the two had expected to go for Christmas lunch together, and how he had gone round to the house that day to wake him.
"I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed," he told the newspaper.
And as fans and fellow musicians paid tribute to Michael, the extent of the pop star's quiet generosity and charitable work has become evident.
In one instance, revealed by television presenter Richard Osman, Michael anonymously gave a contestant on Deal of No Deal the money she needed for IVF treatment.
It transpired later that the couple had spent years wondering who their mysterious benefactor was.
Lynette Gillard, 38, from Bolton, was the apparent recipient. She and her partner Steve Davies had gone on the show in 2008 but did not win enough to fund the treatment outright.
She told the Telegraph: "For many years I wondered who would have been so generous and now I know."
The singer also donated millions of pounds to charities including Childline, the Terrence Higgins Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Tributes have poured in for the star, who died from suspected heart failure at his home in Oxfordshire.
Michael's former long-term partner Kenny Goss described the 53-year-old musician as a "kind and generous man".
Elton John said he had lost a "beloved friend" while the singer's former Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley said he was "heartbroken".