EXCLUSIVE
Gloria Hunniford (84), opens up about grief and tells Yours why she has no plans to give up work
It’s hard to believe that April 13 marked 20 years since Gloria Hunniford’s beloved daughter Caron Keating lost her battle with breast cancer.
The TV presenter was just 41 when she passed away and, for Gloria, no matter how much time has passed, she tells Yours, the pain never gets easier.
“Sometimes it seems like 100 years ago, and sometimes it feels like two,” she reflects. “You manage your grief all your life – it never goes away. To lose a child is the worst thing that can ever happen to you, and there was a point that I thought, ‘This could take me out as well’.”
A vital component in Gloria’s grief management over the years has been spinning her daughter’s unfathomably tragic fate into something positive. After chatting to the veteran presenter ahead of the anniversary, it’s clear that Caron’s optimistic attitude, which “allowed her to live seven years when she was only given one and a half”, has had a profoundly positive impact on Gloria’s outlook. “You have to try and train your mind for positive living because it’s the key to your own existence and survival,” she says.
“Someone asked me the other day: ‘Do you still think of Caron?’
I thought: ‘Are you crazy? I think of her hundreds of times every single day.’
“You can’t carry a child, bear a child and know a child inside out for 41 years and just get over it. You just become different and learn to cope better. You have to live your life, live it to the fullest – and try to live for the moment.”
But what also changed the course of the broadcaster’s healing journey was a letter she received shortly after Caron’s passing, which led to the establishment of The Caron Keating Foundation. Gloria shares, “This woman wrote to me and said, ‘I had to tell you how sorry I am that Caron died.’ And then she said, ‘You now have to find a way of carrying Caron’s spirit forward. She has a very big soul, and the soul is never the end.’
“And in the middle of the night, I thought, ‘I’ve got to start up a charity in Caron’s name.’”
Northern Ireland native Gloria, who also has sons Paul and Michael with her late ex-husband Don Keating, shares how Caron’s loved ones paid tribute to her on the 20th anniversary of her passing. The Blue Peter presenter is survived by husband Russ Lindsay, who went on to marry Sally Meen and raise two daughters, along with Russ and Caron’s sons Charlie (29) and Gabriel (26).
“I’ve gathered all of Caron and Russ’ friends and they’re coming to Hever because it’s very
