The ITV personality spoke about the loss of his mother earlier today.
Good Morning Britain presenter Martin Lewis opened up on today’s show about the death of his mother when he was a child – calling it “the defining moment” of his life.
After watching a 1 Million Minutes clip on young sisters Gabriella and Anabella, who were just eight and three when their father suddenly passed away of a heart attack, Martin shared his experience of bereavement.
Having benefited from speaking to volunteers, Gabriella explained: “If I didn’t have the volunteers I don’t know how I would have coped.” Annabella added: “I didn’t want to upset mum, I wanted to talk to someone different about it. I think having someone else to talk to or draw with or anything with, expressing my feelings with really helped me.”
Following the clip, Martin explained,
“One in 30 children will lose a parent before the age of 18 – I was one of those, it was the defining moment of my life.”
He added he is a patron of the charity Grief Encounter, one of the charities 1 Million Minutes is helping.
Now in its sixth consecutive year, 2021’s 1 Million Minutes initiative, which launched on the show on Wednesday 1 December, will roll out across the UK and is backed by a host of celebrity stunts and endorsements, plus the entire GMB family. The project, which asks viewers to pledge time rather than money, has so far seen over a quarter of a billion minutes since it began, donated to charities looking for volunteers to connect with those who feel alone.
It has never been more important for us to talk about feeling lonely, especially following the acute isolation that lockdown has caused millions of people across the world. This year GMB is looking at the many faces of loneliness, recognising it in ourselves and others.
All activity will be supported online and via GMB’s social platforms which now have a combined reach of 2.2m followers and a further 1m subscribers on YouTube. Over 47 million minutes have been pledged so far by GMB viewers.
There will be a virtual pledge button where users can donate their time at itv.com/1millionminutes. In 2020, the campaign achieved a record 87 million minutes pledged.
Good Morning Britain, weekdays from 6 am on ITV and the ITV Hub