Watch: This Morning host holds back tears as guest recounts ‘tragic’ event live on air
ITV’s This Morning host Cat Deeley held back tears on Wednesday’s show, as guest of the day Claire Throssel recounted the devastating events that led to her abusive ex-husband purposely setting their family home alight, tragically killing their two sons – Jack, 12 and Paul, nine – as well as himself. Over a decade on, Claire, who now has an MBE, appeared on the show to reveal her new book, For My Boys, which tells her heartbreaking story and gives voice to all children at risk of an abusive parent.
Joining hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on the sofa, Claire explained: “There are books out there that tell you how to wean your children, how to get them into a bed time routine, but not one single book that tells you how to live without your children.”
After being told for many years that she should share her story, Claire said she knew it was time. “I knew that I had to write a lasting, loving testimony to the boys, because they never got justice, and when I’m not here to keep their memories alive, the real story, the real truth, would not be out there anymore,” she said.
Claire’s eldest son, Jack, tried to save his younger brother, and Claire said “the whole floodgates opened” when recounting the devastating events for the book.
“People might judge me and they might look at it and think how on earth did see put up with that, but if they do judge me for that, I hope they judge that I’m here now, and I’m still standing and I’ve released this book and it’s a lasting testimony to them.”
Holding back tears, Cat reassured her: “Claire, I don’t think anybody is going to judge you for this book. It is truly the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read.”
In 2016, Claire became an ambassador for Women’s Aid and IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Service) and played a fundamental role in implementing the Domestic Abuse Bill, as well as ensuring domestic abuse survivors can no longer be cross-examined by their perpetrators in Family Court. She’s also raised awareness for all judges to be trained on domestic abuse cases and has lobbied parliament to abolish the ‘presumption of contact’ guidelines in child custody cases.
