Manchester victim Martyn Hett went viral last year for the most beautiful act of kindness.

Martyn Hett loved his mum. The 29-year-old, who died in the Manchester bombing, proved it last year with a series of tweets that went viral.

In the lead-up to Christmas, Hett’s mum set up a stall featuring her knitted and other handmade items at a craft fair. It was the first time she’d had her own stall, and after a while, she messaged her son to share her disappointment.

She hadn’t sold anything.

Hett shared the news and a photo of the stall in a tweet, adding, “My heart is breaking.”

Deciding he had to do something for his mum, Hett added a link to his mum’s online shop. Before long, one of his friends had bought something. She had her first sale.

“OMG guys please continue to buy things,” he tweeted. “THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY.”

My mum has set up her own stall at a craft fair and has messaged me to say she hasn’t sold anything yet and my heart is breaking pic.twitter.com/cdzHn77pM5

— Martyn (@martynhett) November 26, 2016

Before long, there was a rush on his mum’s knitted items.

“Martyn, I’ve sold nine items in the past hour!” she messaged him. “I was ready to give up knitting altogether, but this has made my week! Thank you my darling, you’ve made your mother very happy.”

Soon, Hett’s mum was getting enquiries from overseas. Before long, she was selling out of items.

She ended up making more than $1700, most of which she gave to charity.

“Oh my God, I’m weeping,” Hett tweeted.

Met up with me mam for the first time since her viral fame. She’s stocked up on materials and has had a very busy weekend knitting ???????? pic.twitter.com/fCO0fqoVnh

— Martyn (@martynhett) December 4, 2016

This wasn’t Hett’s only brush with fame. He and his boyfriend Russell Hayward went on a couples’ edition of Come Dine With Me, which they won.

When some viewers criticised their behaviour on the show, he fired back,  “If my one hour of fame taught me anything, it’s that there’s always going to be a t— behind a keyboard that secretly wishes they could win £1,000 by drinking loads of wine on TV – like we did.”

Hett also appeared on another reality series, Tattoo Fixers. The devoted Coronation Street fan showed that he had the name “Deirdre” tattooed on his leg, in honour of the character played by the late Anne Kirkbride.

“I love how common she is – a bit like me,” he said.

He wanted the name “Deirdre” replaced with a picture of Deirdre behind bars. And he got it.

Listen: On a special episode of Mamamia Out Loud, Holly Wainwright discusses her feelings following on from the terrorist attack in her home town of Manchester (post continues after audio…)

Coronation Street’s official Twitter page was one of the many to express their sorrow at the news of Hett’s death.

Hett’s devastated boyfriend, Russell Hayward, posted this message:

“We got the news last night that our wonderful, iconic and beautiful Martyn didn’t survive. He left this world exactly how he lived, centre of attention.”

In the UK, he became a trending topic on Twitter.

“He would, I think it’s safe to say, be f—ing loving this,” added his brother Dan.

If you’d like to support the victims of the attack and their families, you can donate to the Manchester attack victims fund here.