Carol Vorderman got emotional when she opened up about the struggles her brother endured throughout his childhood.
Anton, Carol’s brother, faced abuse for having a cleft lip and palate.
The former Countdown legend, who has a brother and a sister, recalled what it was like growing up.
60-year-old Carol spoke of her ‘tough childhood’ and revealed how it spurred on her brother Anton to help others.
Taking to social media, Carol shared a video of a man called Jonathan, who has Treacher Collins Syndrome.
The star explained how Jonathan’s story resonated with her deeply.
In a series of Instagram videos, she said: “Jonathan’s story is significant to me and my family because of my brother.
(Image: Getty Images)
“My brother was born in the 1950s with severe cleft lip and palate and over the course of his life had 24 operations on his face.
“He was eight years older than me and didn’t like to go out because of how he looked. I called him ‘my little daddy’ because our father had abandoned me, not my brother or sister, he refused to meet me from when I was two weeks old. I don’t know why, still to this day.”
She continued: “We were very poor, he was always kind and yet he suffered a lot of abuse because of how he looked and he grew and still is one of the kindest, most generous, funny, loving, successful people I’ve ever known.
“He is always laughing, he loves people, everybody loves my brother and I suppose the reason I am telling you this, I’ve been a patron of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association for 20 years and it’s not the same in Eastern Europe.
“A number of years ago he found that in Romania, Bulgaria, when babies are born with cleft they are often taken from their mothers and taken to orphanages and that was because they couldn’t suck and feed.
(Image: Instagram)
“And there’s a special way of feeding babies with severe cleft palate. So he set up a charity to train specialists who would then train the mothers.”
Struggling to hold back tears, she added: “In the first years they managed to get over 40 babies out of orphanages and back with their mums. It makes me cry.”
She then said with her voice breaking: “And THAT is my brother. Born with cleft, 24 operations, suffered because of how he looks and yet he’s helped many others. He’s wonderful.”
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
