Twenty years after her beautiful daughter Caron Keating died, Gloria Hunniford explains why ‘in her name’ has – with the passing of time – helped celebrate the fun, laughter and joy Caron brought to so many…
Had Caron Keating lived, she would have been 62 this October. But tragically, the television star lost her life to breast cancer on 13 April 2004, so she won’t be at her son Charlie’s wedding in September, in the church where both Caron and her mum Gloria Hunniford married. It is a bittersweet thought for the presenter, who pays an exclusive tribute to Caron’s quirky fashion sense, outside the box thinking and quick-witted sense of humour - a gift she no doubt inherited from her famous mother…
Gloria, can you believe it’s been 20 years this month since you lost Caron…?
No! I really can’t believe it. Some days it feels like 100 years. Other days, it feels far more recent.
I was in such a terrible state back then…
There was a time when the loss was so deep and awful…
I just couldn’t bear it. To lose a child, in my opinion, is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. I would worry about what my children would do if I died young, but you never think it could be one of them. I was deeply sad, deeply disturbed.
Yes. I remember you saying you were getting thousands of letters…
I stop counting at eight thousand… you must remember, Caron was very popular in her own right when we lost her – Blue Peter, This Morning, and we did a show called Family Affair with her brother, Michael.
Michael and her other brother, Paul. That was a tough time for you all…
Yes, but one of those letters saved me. It was on a scrap of jotter paper, in pencil, but it stood out. A woman wrote, ‘I don’t know why I am writing to you at 1.22 in the morning.
You must now find a way of carrying Caron’s name and wonderful spirit forward. Always remember, the soul is bigger than death and death is never the end. Do something good in her name…’
And her letter was the reason that you founded the Caron Keating Foundation?
Yes, she was absolutely right. It doesn’t matter what you do but – just to do something in their name – do good, it’s part of the healing when you lose anyone close. Otherwise, it will take you out. It was that stark for me but I knew that I had a lovely husband… plus Caron’s lovely children, my sons. In time, you learn to live around it. She is gone, the black hole remains, but you have to find a way to re-join life and for me, it was the foundation.
You are involved there daily, aren’t you?
