This Morning fans were in tears after Shirley Ballas spoke about her brother’s suicide.
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby welcomed the former Strictly judge, 61, to the ITV studio in Wednesday morning’s instalment (June 22) to raise awareness about male suicide.
Phil explained that This Morning a partnering with the charity, Calm who have just launched their new campaign on London’s South Bank in the hope of saving lives.
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The London display features of pictures of men who have taken their own lives, with Shirley’s brother being one of them.
Speaking about her brother’s suicide that happened 20 years ago, the former ballroom dancer described her brother as a “powerhouse” who “everybody loved.”
(Image: ITV)
She added: “He was everything to me, we spoke everyday at four o’clock. He was the last person that I would ever think would take their own life.”
Viewers of the show immediately took to social media about the segment, with many left in tears.
One wrote: “@thismorning just beautiful, sat here in tears at your segment on male suicide.”
“I’m in tears watching @ShirleyBallas. The pain of losing her brother is still palpable #ThisMorning,” penned another.
(Image: ITV)
A third tweeted: “That hit me in the heart, i am crying, i can relate to feeling like this almost every day, i fight against doing anything bad about it and just try stay strong #thismorning #suicideawareness.”
While a fourth wrote: “Brave interview @ShirleyBallas on @thismorning You’re right – the pain never goes when you lose your brother to suicide. I lost mine around the same time you lost yours. Feeling emotional watching you.”
(Image: ITV)
The former judge admitted that now she looks back, she realised there were warning signs but didn’t pick up on it at the time because the subject of male suicide wasn’t spoken about enough.
“When I look back now, there were warning signs, there were little comments he would make but I’d say ‘oh you’ll be fine’ because you didn’t talk about it,” she said.
Shirley added: “It wasn’t something you came into the front and said ‘oh I’m feeling like this’, he wouldn’t even go to the hospital because he didn’t want anyone to know.”
The BBC star warned if a loved one changes a habit then that could be a sign they could be suffering.
(Image: ITV)
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“If somebody changes a habit, one minute they’ve been super jovial, the next minute they’re down or they’re not bathing or they’re not turning up for appointments, these start to be little signs and we have to be astute,” the dancer explained.
“You learn to live with it, but it never goes away. It’s hard to ever let go.”
After the segment, a powerful tribute was made to men who had recently taken their own lives, shown through a collection of moving home videos put together by Calm.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
