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“Why Did he Treat me This Way?” – Helen Skelton BREAKS DOWN, Feeling SORRY for herself. A fairytale romance, A dream wedding. Viewers thought of it all, pinning their hopes on the TV couple Gethin Jones and Helen Skelton. BUT no one expected Gethin to shatter it All.

After a promising start to their romance, sources reveal Helen Skelton’s confidence has been ‘knocked’ following her split from Gethin Jones

@Daniel Loveday/Comic Relief/Getty Images

 

Just months after TV presenters Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones were romantically linked, it seems they’re already over – and sources tell Closer that Helen has been left d3vastated.

It was reported last week that Gethin had been spotted on celebrity dat1ng app Raya while on a l2ds’ tr1p to Australia, where he was said to be ‘keen to meet other women’.

 

 

Now, an insider reveals, ‘Helen is embarrassed and hurt by it all. They weren’t in a serious relationship but had been having a good time, and Helen really let her guard down with Gethin. She found it hard to trust men and she thought he could be different, as he made her feel great.’

 

Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones raised money for Comic Relief by doing a roller skating challenge ©Photo by Daniel Loveday/Comic Relief/Getty Images

 

Helen, 42, and Gethin, 47 – who host Morning Live together – first fuelled romance rumours in May, with eyewitnesses claiming the pair appeared ‘tactile’ when attending the BAFTA Television Awards. It was believed that they’d been enjoying secret dates – including a spa getaway – when spending their weeks in Manchester to film the BBC show. Prior to that, Gethin gushed over ‘super woman’ Helen in a social media post in March, after they completed a 24-hour roller skating challenge for Comic Relief.

Fans were thrilled to see Helen happy again after her public break-up from husband of nine years, rugby player Richie Myler. Helen announced her split from Richie, 35 – who she shares Ernie, nine, Louis, eight, and Elsie, three, with – in April 2022, saying, ‘Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home.’ Richie then moved on with Stephanie Thirkill, who he now has two children with.

 

 

Welshman Gethin similarly hasn’t had the best luck with love. He dated opera singer Katherine Jenkins for four years from 2007 and proposed in 2011, but the pair ended up calling off their engagement. He then dated TOWIE’s Lucy Mecklenburgh in 2014 and he briefly dated First Dates’ Cici Coleman in 2023.

 

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Our source adds that Helen has now realised she and Gethin live ‘very different lives’, and she’s focusing on the future.

‘Helen has to put her children first but her friends and family encouraged her to go and have some fun and they thought Gethin could be The One. She doesn’t think Gethin is a bad person, just not the right person for her and where she is in life,’ the insider says.

‘But she feels a bit us3d and it’s really knocked her confidence again – she now worries she’s going to be that “unl::cky in love” woman. Things will be fine with Gethin when they see each other and work together, but it will be a bit awkward at first. She just knows not to go for a single man in his 40s who has never settled down.’

Coleen Nolan has revealed which of her famous sisters once had an affair with her boyfriend. The Loose Women star, 60, was back on the panel of ITV’s lunchtime chat show alongside anchor Kaye Adams as well as fellow panellists Mariella Frostrup and Jane Moore when the ladies were discussing a Coronation Street storyline.

Earlier this week, fans of the world’s longest-running TV soap watched as Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) discovered her brother Carl (Jonathan Howard) had been sleeping with his sister-in-law Abi (Sally Carman-Duttine) and was left in a dilemma of what to do about it.

Coleen, who shot to fame alongside her many sisters as part of The Nolans in the late 1970s and achieved hit singles with I’m In The Mood For Dancing and Gotta Pull Myself Together, recalled a time that she had found herself in a similar situation when her sister Maureen informed her that another sibling had got involved with her boyfriend.

 

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Coleen made the confession on Wednesday’s Loose Women(Image: ITV)

She began: “I was seeing somebody, living with him for two years and then my sister ended up being with him. Maureen told me, and I knew anyway. I was deciding at the time that I didn’t want to be with the guy but it was still shocking and hurtful. We never fell out because I thought he wasn’t worth losing my sister over. And also, a bit snide of me, I loved sitting back and seeing how long it would last, and it didn’t!”

Kaye then asked Coleen whether she felt she had been more ‘betrayed’ by the sister who had got involved with her boyfriend, or the man himself.

She added: “I was more betrayed by probably my sister at the time. We grew up as six girls and we had the same taste in guys. The difference is with me is that it was fight to the death for the guy but when he picked who he wanted, that was it. Obviously, it went a bit further than that with those two.”

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Coleen said it was her late sister Bernie who had ‘betrayed’ her but insisted that everything turned out okay between them(Image: PA)

Coleen noted that the confrontation between the pair came at a time when they were working together, and could tell instantly as soon as she clapped eyes on her sister in the dressing room that she knew she had learned the truth.

She added: “I remember seeing her for the first time, we were working together, sharing a dressing room. I walked in and knew she knew. I just said ‘Can I borrow that lipstick?’ I just thought, let them get on with it.”

Coleen the admitted that it was the ‘right thing’ for her sister Maureen to do by informing her, and then decided to reveal the identity of the sister in question.

“It was right for her to do, it would’ve been really hard for…” Coleen paused before admitting: “Bernie, I’m gonna say it was Bernie, to face me.”

Bernie served as lead singer of The Nolan Sisters and also became known for her role on The Bill as well starring in the musical Blood Brothers but died in 2013 at the age of just 52 following a battle with cancer.

Coleen added: “It would’ve been hard for Bernie to face me and Maureen telling me gave me time to process it before I kind of met up. We were fine after that, honestly. Absolutely fine. And they didn’t last anyway.”

Reform UK has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “inciting violence” against Nigel Farage in his speech to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, and said the prime minister will be “responsible” if anything happens to him.

Speaking to Sky News Breakfast, the party’s policy chief said the prime minister “knows he cannot beat Nigel at the ballot box”, so has instead tried to “demonise him”.

Sir Keir has denied the accusation that he risked inciting violence or inflaming tensions with his speech.

The accusation comes after Sir Keir warned that the next four years will be “a fight for the soul of our country” against Reform UK in his keynote speech setting out his vision of “national renewal” for Britain.

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, told presenter Wilfred Frost that over the last two days, the prime minister has “embarked on a campaign with his cabinet to incite violence” against Mr Farage.

Pulling out specific quotes from Sir Keir’s hour-long speech to his party conference, Yusuf said: “The prime minister knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows he cannot beat Nigel at the ballot box. We’ve seen the most extraordinary campaign over 48 hours to demonise Nigel, and he is absolutely inciting violence against him.”

He went on to say that there are “millions of people in this country who, if anything was to happen to Nigel Farage, will hold the prime minister squarely responsible for his actions”.

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Sir Keir was asked about the claim of inciting violence, and if he risked inflaming tensions with his speech in an interview with GB News, and he replied: “No, not at all.”

More broadly, senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden told Frost earlier: “I think a lot of Reform’s protesting about this is because what they don’t want to talk about is the policy they announced last week.”

That was in reference to Reform UK’s pledge to end indefinite leave to remain, which could see legal immigrants to Britain deported because they do not meet new requirements the party proposes to bring in.

Mr McFadden described the policy proposal as “deeply un-British” and “a mistake” from the party.

Reform ‘know they have gone too far’, says senior minister

In his interview with Sky News, Mr Yusuf highlighted a number of sections of Sir Keir’s conference speech on Tuesday.

Sir Keir called for his party to “fight Reform with everything that this movement has”, and said that he himself will “fight with every breath I have, fight for working people, fight for the tolerant, decent, respectful Britain that I know”.

The prime minister also said the country must “go into that battle armed, not just with words and condemnation, but with action”.

And on Reform UK’s pledge to end indefinite leave to remain and deport “people who’ve lived here for generations”, Sir Keir said: “If you say they should now be deported, then mark my words – we will fight you with everything we have because you are the enemy of national renewal.”

He also described “the politics of grievance”, which he attributed to Reform UK and Mr Farage, as “the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are”.

“Using that language,” Mr Yusuf said, “He knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Mr Yusuf also claimed that “the authorities cut the size of Nigel’s security by 75%” two weeks ago, which he said occurred around the time of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and party donors had “stepped in to ensure, thankfully, that Nigel is well protected”.

Mr Farage told the BBC in September last year that he was given a close protection detail by the state following the summer riots, which he said was “when so many commentators tried to put the blame on me”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Decisions on MP security are made independently of ministers.”

A spokesperson for the House of Commons has declined to comment on the claim that Mr Farage’s security detail has been cut, saying in a statement: “The ability of members and their staff to perform their parliamentary duties safely, both on and off the estate, is fundamental to our democracy.

“Any assessment of an individual MP’s security arrangements or advice is subject to a rigorous risk-based assessment, conducted by security professionals and with input from a range of professional authorities.

“Whilst these are naturally kept under continuous review, we do not comment on specific details so as not to compromise the safety of MPs, parliamentary staff or members of the public.”

The Metropolitan Police, the Labour Party, and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

During today’s (September 30) episode of Loose Women, Kelly Brook opened up about the “pain” she felt after losing her baby.

For Tuesday’s show, Kelly was joined by her fellow panelists Jane Moore, Mariella Frostrup and Sunetra Sarker. During the second half, the ITV daytime programme welcomed Kelsey Parker, who opened up about losing her son, Phoenix.

Phoenix was stillborn 39 weeks into Kelsey’s pregnancy earlier this summer. The 35 year old was due to welcome her baby with boyfriend Will Lindsay.

In 2022, her husband Tom Parker died from a brain tumour, with who she shared two children, daughter Aurelia, six, and son Bodhi, four.

Kelsey Parker lost her son Phoenix earlier this year (Credit: ITV)

Kelly Brook praises Kelsey Parker

While opening up about her grief and the tough few years she’s had, Kelly admitted to Kelsey that she had gone through a similar experience to her after losing her dad to cancer in 2007 and then her baby while pregnant in 2011.

“At the time when I lost my baby, miscarriage wasn’t really something we talked about a lot,” she admitted.

“I just remember at the time, my mum stepping in and being a real mumma bear to me and wanting to protect me from the pain I was going through. I was dealing with questions I hadn’t even come to terms with. Like ‘Did you have a name for your baby?’ ‘How would you like to remember them?’”

The former Big Breakfast host explained that she and her mum “both shut down” and “treated it as a miscarriage”.

She told Kelsey: “I think, if I had seen someone like yourself or even Myleene [Klass] and other women in the public eye talking so publicly and openly and bravely like this, I think I would have dealt with it a lot differently.”

Kelly admitted she felt like “the only one it was happening to” as she explained why it’s so important for others to open up.

Kelly opened up about her own loss (Credit: ITV)

Viewers offer their support

After both women opened up about their tragic situations, viewers rushed to social media to share their support.

“Kelsey Parker is such a strong lady,” one user wrote on X.

“Kelly I just want to give you a hug,” another person shared.

“What a beautiful soul Kelsey Parker is,” a third remarked.

Lorraine Kelly left the Loose Women panel open-mouthed with an OUTRAGEOUS comment about her s3x life with husband Steve Smith – and Kaye Adams gasped ‘I’ve never heard you speak like this before!’

The 65-year-old, who has been married to Steven since 1992, appeared on the ITV show to chat the the ladies about her important Change + Check campaign – which promotes breast cancer awareness.

Wednesday marked the campaign’s first ever ‘check your boobs day’, which will now fall on October 1 every year, and encourage people to find their ‘normal’.

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‘It’s about knowing our normal. Checking yourself. it’s about knowing your normal,’ she told Kaye, Coleen Nolan, Mariella Frostup and Jane Moore.

Kaye said: ‘So the campaign rolls on, today to be recognised by the government as national check your boobs day. ‘

‘Which is great, don’t just check your boobs once a year, that’s daft, once a moment, every two weeks,  it’s really up to you, It’s about your normal though. some people do have lumpy boobies,’ Lorraine replied.

Lorraine Kelly left the Loose Women panel open-mouthed with an OUTRAGEOUS comment about her s3x life with husband Steve Smith – and Kaye Adams gasped ‘I’ve never heard you speak like this before!’

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The 65-year-old, who has been married to Steven since 1992, appeared on the ITV show to chat the the ladies about her important Change + Check campaign – which promotes breast cancer awareness

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The pair (pictured) tied the knot in 1992 and share one daughter called Rosie, 31

She added: ‘It’s whatever suits you, for me I do it once a month, but my husband checks my boobies quite regularly.’

A shocked Coleen gasped and said to the live audience: ‘She’s just showing off!’

Lorraine replied: ‘He knows them better than me, Coleen. He knows… everything.’

Coleen asked: ‘Oh is he good at that? I might pop round!’

An intrigued Mariella asked: ‘Is it part of foreplay or just checking?’

Lorraine answered: ‘Sometimes it can be… He’s very selfless.’

A shocked Kaye said: I’ve never heard you speak like this before!’

Keen to highlight the importance of the conversation, Lorraine told her: ‘Anything that gets the message across! Anything at all.’

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A shocked Coleen gasped and said to the live audience: ‘She’s just showing off!’ before adding ‘Oh is he good at that? I might pop round!’

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Lorraine was keen to make sure that the message of checking your breasts was put across to viewers

Lorraine and her husband have been together since the 1980s.

The pair tied the knot in 1992 and share one daughter called Rosie, 31.

It comes after Lorraine posed topless in a bid to raise awareness about breast cancer.

In its seventh year of championing breast cancer awareness, Lorraine’s Change + Check campaign has announced the launch of National Check Your Boobs Day, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness for the importance of proactive attitudes towards breast health.

The new day will take place on October 1st every year and aims to be a permanent staple in the programme’s calendar, serving as a crucial reminder for everyone to make self-checking a regular monthly habit.

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Lorraine Kelly has posed topless in a bid to raise awareness about breast cancer

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Lorraine’s Change + Check campaign has announced the launch of National Check Your Boobs Day

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The star stripped off alongside her Lorraine team for the launch of the awareness day

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Lorraine’s Change + Check choir was invited to close the Royal Variety Show last year

Posing for the launch, Kelly, 65, posed with two Chelsea buns on her chest as she aims to seek an official endorsement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to establish the day on the national calendar.

Lorraine Kelly said: ‘Launching Britain’s first ever National Check Your Boobs Day is a huge step forward and will hopefully be a crucial reminder for everyone to prioritise their breast health.

‘This is something that truly matters to me, and I’m so grateful for all the support we receive from the public and our partners to get this vital message out there.

‘I think the reason Change + Check has been such a successful campaign is because the message is so clear and simple, it’s easy to understand and it’s something we can all do for ourselves.

‘We will never know how many lives have been saved, but the fact there are over 100 women and of course one man (because breast cancer affects men too) walking around today because of the campaign, makes me so proud of my fantastic team.

‘It has been incredibly emotional watching them all put their heart and soul into helping spread the word.

‘There are so many highlights but one of the stand out moments for me was our Change + Check choir being invited to close the Royal Variety Show last year, singing our number one fundraising single Love Is All Around with the wonderful Marti Pellow.

‘If appearing at the Royal Variety Show wasn’t enough, a few months later we were asked by the King and Queen to perform at Buckingham Palace for a special reception for cancer charities.

‘They were both so interested in the Change + Check campaign and Queen Camilla told us she had enjoyed watching us perform on the show. It was an unforgettable moment for all of us.’

Tensions began to rise on Loose Women during Wednesday’s (October 1) episode as the four panellists discussed the latest politics news.

Following Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Party conference on Tuesday (September 30), there was plenty to talk about, with presenter Kaye Adams initiating the discussion.

She turned to her fellow panellists, Coleen Nolan, Mariella Frostrup and Jane Moore, to ask for their thoughts and opinions on Keir’s frequent mentions of Nigel Farage and Reform UK.

Kaye and Mariella quickly became embroiled in a heated debate, with Mariella insisting Kaye let her speak while the host attempted to share some findings from the latest polls.

“I think what the country really needs is a big, optimistic, bold view of what the future looks like, that we can all get on board with,” Mariella said.

“Constantly playing tit-for-tat with someone whose agenda has already destabilised the country, some of us, who didn’t support Brexit, would say. And now…,” she said, as Kaye attempted to interject.

 

Mariella Frostrup on Loose Women (Image: ITV)

Mariella continued: “And now, they’re doing the same thing again and allowing Nigel Farage to take up all the oxygen. It’s not to say people shouldn’t support him if they want to, but he isn’t held to the same account as other politicians.”

Kaye attempted to interrupt her co-star by questioning if Mariella had “seen the polls”, and she eventually confirmed she had.

Kaye argued: “But, it’s not just Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage represents a huge chunk of people.”

The two Loose Women panellists then proceeded to talk over one another, with Coleen jokingly telling the audience: “I feel like I’m inbetween them!” referring to Keir and Nigel.

I’m saying it’s because he’s been given a completely free ride and a popular platform and Keir Starmer is engaging with him,” Mariella argued, with Kaye asking: “So, are you going to just ignore these people?”

Eventually, the debate began to trail off, with Jane bringing things to a halt. As attention turned back to Kaye, she then put her hands up and exclaimed: “I can’t do this anymore!” before turning her attention to Jane’s new look, as she pointed out her bold lipstick choice.

Tensions rose on Loose Women (Image: ITV)

Loose Women fans at home weighed in on the debate on social media, with one person fuming: “Stop interrupting each other #LooseWomen.”

“Well said Mariella #loosewomen,” another TV viewer wrote, however, someone else argued: “Mariella never allows anyone else to have a point of view #loosewomen.”

However it has transpired that, unlike many of the contestants, Karen didn’t start her training completely from scratch for the BBC Saturday night show. The star revealed her dance background in an old interview with the FA – even crediting it with enhancing her football skills. “I enjoyed football when I was a kid and had loads of kickabouts but I didn’t join my first club until I was 11. Until then, it was all about dancing for me,” she said. “We did loads of different routines and genres of music; street dancing, hip-hop, disco, rock ‘n’ roll, slow dancing, team dances.”

 

Karen Carney gave an impressive first performance on Strictly Come Dancing (Image: BBC)

The ITV and TNT sports broadcaster admitted she only gave up dancing due to a change in the scheduling of her football matches.

“When I got a bit older and my football matches switched to a Sunday, I had some choices to make. I decided to give up dancing when I was 15.”

Despite quitting her classes, she claimed the traits she took from dance had stood her in good stead when it came to football.

“My agility, my strength, my power and how I move my feet during a match are all definitely down to dancing, 100 per cent. I was quite little but I was quite strong and that was because all the dancing made my muscles stronger.”

Karen Carney topped the leadeboard on the first Strictly Come Dancing live show (Image: BBC)

Karen and Carlos topped the leaderboard after the judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke awarded them 31 points following their jive to Blondie’s One Way Or Another.

Head judge Shirley hailed it the “best dance of the night” and Karen became the first footballer in 18 years to top the week one leaderboard.

Their nearest competition was former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and his pro Katya Jones who scored 28 points also performing a Jive to Get Ready by The Temptations.

The scores from the opening week will be added to the scores from the show on Saturday October 5 and two couples will face the dreaded dance off with one going home.

Loose Women sparked Ofcom fury (Image: ITV)

Loose Women faced a wave of Ofcom complaints following a segment discussing Violet Affleck’s United Nations speech. A total of 97 complaints were filed in response to comments made during the September 25 episode of the ITV show. Violet, the eldest daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, spoke out about COVID-19 and long COVID, criticising the return to a mask-free society. Her speech prompted a debate among panelists Kaye Adams, Oti Mabuse, Judi Love, and Nadia Sawalha, who discussed whether children today are experiencing increased health anxiety.

Kaye said: “It’s sparked a conversation about the growing health anxiety crisis among young people. I don’t think necessarily Violet has said that she has health anxiety but you look at that and you do see somebody who is concerned.” However, the segment sparked a flurry of complaints, with viewers criticising the show for using Violet’s speech as a springboard to discuss health anxiety among children and teenagers.

 

One raged: “Just submitted a complaint to @Ofcom about @LooseWomen trivialising Violet Affleck’s UN speech on #LongCovid. Misrepresenting young advocates & dismissing children’s suffering is unacceptable.”

A second agreed: “The attack on Violet Affleck is an unacceptable behavior, labeling a young intelligent well articulated woman as anxious when she is stating medical facts in UN? Your program is sick and should not be allowed to continue. Your lies that ‘covid is a cold’ are killing people.”

Another echoed: “I can’t bring myself to watch it. It’s embarrassing that anyone would think their opinion on this serious, scientific subject matters.”

Also hitting out at the show, a fourth posted: “Violet Affleck, who’s just 19, wears a mask in public and spoke movingly at the United Nations about the need for clean air in schools. In response, Loose Women asked parents if they’re worried about their kids’ ‘health anxiety’.”

Violet Affleck criticised the return to a mask-free society during her United Nations speech (Image: United Nations)

Another declared: “@loosewomenn ashamed for your ignorance regarding covid and its long impacts on some. Read some science! You know how some people can eat peanuts and some can’t without dire consequences? Some people get covid and are basically ok, some get covid and are not.”

During her speech, Violet slammed leaders for “ignoring, minimizing, and hiding both the prevalence of airborne transmission and the threat of the long COVID”.

The 19-year-old admitted she was “terrified” and “furious” for children, who “will not know a world without debilitating pain and exhaustion, who cannot trust their bodies to play, explore, and imagine”.

Coronation Street’s Asha Alahan is having a difficult time (Image: ITV/Danielle Baguley/Shutterstock)

Coronation Street spoilers have revealed Asha Alahan’s (played by Tanisha Gorey) family is left questioning whether the youngster tried to take her own life on the ITV soap. Spoilers have shared her stepmother Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) tells Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) she’s worried about Asha after recent events, as she’s been avoiding work since facing vile and racist abuse.

In the shop, an exhausted Asha starts drinking from a bottle of wine before telling Brodie Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey) to mind the shop as she heads out. However, she is soon left walking down the street in tears. Meanwhile, at the pub, Dev takes a call from Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney), who has found Asha in a bad way, and he races out to be with her.

 

Asha takes an oversode in upcoming scenes on the soap (Image: ITV)

A paramedic tends to Asha and asks Dev and Amy if she might have taken any drugs in addition to the alcohol she’s consumed.

As a panicked Dev paces in A&E, paramedic Sienna (Charlotte Tyree) approaches and reveals that drugs were present in Asha’s system. Dev erupts at Bernice after she asks if Asha tried to take her own life.

Later on, Dev finds it impossible to mask his emotions and tells Bernice he can’t help feeling angry that Asha was willing to put everyone she loves through so much pain.

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Will Asha be OK, and is there a way she can start recovering from her struggles?

Speaking about the difficult scenes, Dev star Jimmi told the Manchester Evening News: “He gets a call from Amy, and suddenly his whole world turns upside down, and that’s when he starts going into denial mode, and says, ‘No, this is going to be fine.’

“I remember the emotion being that he just does not want to face that. He doesn’t want to hear that word.”

Shirley Ballas broke down in tears during the show (Image: SPOTIFY )

Shirely Ballas took some time out of her hectic schedule to speak with Paul C Brunson about her humble roots, rise to ballroom stardom and the tragic losses in her life during a lengthy podcast interview with the Married at First Sight Expert. In one part of the conversation, the 54-year-old broke down in tears as she opened up about the devastating loss of her brother, David, who took his own life.

She was left heartbroken over his passing as the pair shared a close bond, having grown up as each other’s only sibling in Wallassey with their mother, Audrey Rich. Shirley shared: “My brother was either very up or very down. He was not often on the line. I’ve heard when we started off, before we moved on the housing estate, my brother was a very gentle soul, and I was the one always screaming and crying and wanting this and dancing round.

Shirley got emotional over her brother’s tragic death (Image: SPOTIFY )

 

“My mother used to put me in the pram, strap me in and put me at the bottom of the yard. Because she said I was upside down doing somersaults in the pram. And my brother was really quite a gentle soul.

“Then we moved to the housing estate. I can’t speak for him because he’s since passed, but certain things went on in his life, you know, that were not great, which were communicated many, many years later. And I think it just, he had to toughen up, you know, became the tough guy.”

The Latin dancing legend then revealed that David became unwell in his forties while she was navigating life in London, and he remained in the North of England. Audrey would visit David during this difficult time, but she lived many miles away from him.

She continued: “When he was 43, 44 he got poorly, lived in the north of England. I lived in the South and I remember my mum going to stay with him. She was with him for about six weeks. He seemed very low. He lost a lot of weight. We never really got to the root cause of – I think maybe, if I could just say his past was catching up with him maybe – And, I just think he just somehow went into a dark hole.”

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“The thing is, with depression and mental health, I knew nothing about that,” Shirley added. “I was busy, I had my son, I had my husband, my mother lived with me and somebody else’s two children that I raised. So life was busy, and I didn’t stop to go up there. My mother did.”

Shirley admitted David “faded fast”, adding: “And then there was just one time when my son was singing at Saint Paul’s Church, and I said to my mum and brother. Why don’t you come up for the week? And he goes, no, I’m feeling much better. Let mum go.

“And she went, and he took his own life that weekend in our home, in our north of England home. So it was just, it was tragic. It was sudden. It was – you can’t even explain it unless you lose somebody.”

David was 44 years old when he died in 2003, and he left behind his young daughter, Mary. Not long after his passing, Mary’s mother died of alcoholism, so Shirley raised Mary as her own.