Watchdog host John Stapleton has broken his silence for the first time since the heartbreaking death of his wife and co-host, Lynn Faulds Wood, saying she was ‘smiling until the end’.
The TV anchor appeared on Good Morning Britain with Lorraine Kelly alongside his son Nick to share memories of Lynn after she passed away aged 72.
Lynn passed away on Friday 24 April after falling ill on the Thursday, shortly after the weekly clap for carers.
John revealed that she suddenly fell ill and had found herself struggling to get off the sofa and when she was taken to hospital, she succumbed to her stroke and a bleed on the brain.
Speaking about her final moments, husband John, who had been married to Lynn since 1977, said that despite her illness she was keeping well.
‘She was a supremely optimistic person I mean, right up until the end in hospital apparently,’ John told Lorraine. ‘When she was rushed into hospital, I couldn’t go with her for reasons you’ll understand, the coronavirus, I couldn’t go with her, initially.’
‘But apparently she was talking to the nurses, and thanking the nurses for helping her and giving them a thumbs up sign, they couldn’t believe it, you know,’ he added.
‘But sadly in this particular instance, her optimism was misplaced.’
Lorraine added her own memories of Lynn, adding that she was an invaluable source of support when starting work as a journalist.
‘I was terrified, I was really scared and the first person I met was Lynn,’ she said. ‘And she was brilliant. I mean, she chatted away to me and honestly, I don’t know what I would have done.
‘I think I would have ran out the door because I was so scared of this new job in this new environment, and I’ll never forget that.’
Son Nick, who has moved back into the family home to be with his dad during this difficult time, said: ‘She was an amazing mom to me obviously and also a fantastic mentor to a lot of people who did end up trying to follow the same path as her into investigative journalism.’
‘I know I’ve received messages from people who I’ve worked with, dad’s had messages from people that he’s worked with… to basically to thank mum for helping them to get into that line of work and feeling like she’s sort of created a pathway for people who wanted to do that and were young and female.’
‘I’m pretty proud that she was able to do that and obviously incredibly proud of her as a mum to me as well as a fantastic person,’ he added.
Members of the public also posted videos sharing their gratitude for Lynn, whose work as a cancer campaigner alerted them to the warning signs of their own diagnosis and saved their lives.
Lynn was best known for turning Watchdog into a peak time BBC One series, presenting the show from 1985 until 1993 alongside her husband John Stapleton.
The presenter who battled both bowel and skin cancer, also co-founded the European Cancer Patient Coalition in 2002, which she chaired 2003-2010.
Good Morning Britain With Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV.
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