BREAKING NEWS: Fiona Bruce ‘heartbroken’ by I’m A Celeb star’s tragic story
An I’m A Celebrity icon gave an insight into her “traumatised” past on Antiques Roadshow.
Antiques Roadshow star Fiona Bruce was (Image: BBC)
Antiques Roadshow star Fiona Bruce was left speechless when I’m A Celebrity legend opened up on being “abandoned”. The iconic BBC series returned and this time, Antiques Roadshow headed to Valentines Mansion and Gardens in Ilford to meet with guests and their extraordinary items.
But the experts took a break as presenter Bruce welcomed Olympic athlete and I’m A Celebrity icon Fatima Whitbread who shared a very personal anecdote. Introducing Fatima in the voiceover Fiona said that she had a “gruelling childhood in care up until she was fostered by the Whitbread family”.
Fatima Whitbread opened up on the “hugely emotional significance” of a doll. (Image: BBC)
Fatima explained: “Sport was my saviour Fiona. I was abandoned as a baby and brought up in the care system for the first 14 years of my life.
“Sport gave me a sense of purpose. Gave me a chance to really thrive and really feel that I had something I could achieve, I could succeed and javelin throwing was a part of that.”
She explains that she met her foster mum Maggie through a netball match at school who turned out to be the javelin coach Fatima had been previously “cheeky” to.
“I was very fortunate to find the love of the Whitbreads. 14 years is a long time to be institutionalised and I never thought I’d find happiness.”
Their attention then turned towards a Louby Lou doll which had a “huge emotional significance” for the 65-year-old.
“Back in the 1960s and 1970s this was the kind of doll you would see. For me in childcare, most things are communal -”
Fiona asks: “So there is nothing that is actually yours?”, as Fatimia replied: “No, nothing you can cling on to that’s yours.
“There was one particular weekend when my dad said he was going to come and visit me and I sat all day on the wall [on] Saturday and no one came and the house auntie said ‘You know, that’s life. Go in the garden.’”
Fatima Whitbread paid tribute to her mum Maggie for fostering her as a teen. (Image: BBC)
Fiona commented: “That’s just heartbreaking”, before Fatima continued.
“And of course, I thought he was coming on the Sunday so I sat on the front wall again and then Auntie Ray [who worked at the care home] came to work on the Monday and brought me Louby Lou and I’ve sort of clung on to and it’s been my go-to since.”
Fatima appeared on Antiques Roadshow to promote a campaign to improve the lives of children in care following her own “traumatising” experiences.
“There’s 110,000 children as we speak in the care system and it’s every child’s birth right really to have a safe and happy childhood.
“And maybe if you have a family that’s grown up and fleeing the nest, you could open your heart and your home to fostering a child, give them that luck and security that they need.”
She then took the time to thank her mum Maggie for “what she’s done for me but for also for giving me the opportunity to help other children.”
