Duchess of York's sink estate reality TV show 'in doubt' after star is arrested over friend's drug death

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It comes less than a month before ITV was due to screen Fergie's two-part documentary on tackling obesity and eating healthily.

The eldest daughter of the family the Duchess chose to help on Hull's crime-ridden Preston Road estate was arrested with her boyfriend Paul after an 18-year-old friend was found dead in her flat.

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Good friends: The Duchess with Tonia Sagerson and her husband, Mick

Terri Sargerson, 24, and her partner allegedly returned to the flat with the friend on Friday night after an evening out. He was found dead the next day, apparently from a heart attack after a drugs overdose.

According to police, Terri and Paul were released on bail without charge pending the result of a post-mortem examination today.

Last night, however, it was unclear what impact the tragedy and subsequent investigation will have on the final format and transmission time of Fergie's documentary, provisionally titled The Duchess In Hull.

Fergie describes the Sargersons - including mother Tonia, 40, and her husband Mick who live with four of their children - as "her friends" and says they are "a lovely family".

Using her expertise on diet and exercise - the Duchess used to be a spokeswoman for WeightWatchers - Fergie assembled a number of food experts to help them eat healthily on a limited budget.

The project has involved the Duchess spending several days a month for the past five months in Hull, where she has stayed in a £40-a-night bed-and-breakfast.

Fergie has also made frequent visits to the Sargersons' home, which is not far from the flat where the body was discovered.

An ITV spokesman describes the Sargersons as "simply a typical family struggling to make ends meet" and that Fergie is shown in the documentary talking "very much on their level".

A spokeswoman for Fergie says: "The Duchess has been alerted to this terrible situation and has asked to be kept informed."