Martin Lewis calls death of mother ‘defining’ moment of his life as he addresses childhood loss on GMB

Martin Lewis is part of the 1 Million Minutes campaign (Picture: ITV)

Money expert Martin Lewis opened up on the death of his mum as a young child, whilst discussing Good Morning Britain’s ‘1 Million Minutes’ pledge to end loneliness.  

Martin is currently standing in as host alongside Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain and has so far been well-received by viewers for his presenting style.

On Tuesday morning’s edition, he won further praise from fans after he shared his experience on bereavement after losing his mum as a child.

After watching a clip from ITV’s 1 Million Minute campaign, Martin told viewers: ‘One in 30 children will lose a parent before the age of 18.

‘I was one of those, it was the defining moment of my life.’

Martin is a patron of the charity Grief Encounter, which is being supported by the campaign.

Martin is a patron of charity Grief Encounter (Picture: ITV)

He spoke to two youngsters who’d lost their father of a heart attack at the age of just eight and three.

Sisters Gabriella and Anabella featured in the clip and told the presenters how they’d been helped by volunteers thanks to the campaign.

Gabriella explained: ‘If I didn’t have the volunteers I don’t know how I would have coped.’

Gabriella and Annabella lost their father when they were just eight and three (Picture: ITV)

Annabella added: ‘I didn’t want to upset mum, I wanted to talk to someone different about it. I think having someone else to talk to or draw with or anything with, expressing my feelings with really helped me.’

The GMB initiative is now in its sixth year and is backed by the show’s entire team – where viewers can pledge their time to charities that are looking for volunteers.

It helps those who are feeling lonely – especially amid the lockdowns which took place in 2020 and early 2021 – to be able to reach out to others and feel less isolated.

Martin has previously spoken out about his loss before, and in a 2019 interview on Loose Women, he said he sought counselling after the difficult event.

More: ITV

He told the panel: ‘I am still now, 35 odd years later, deeply scarred by what happened to me…

‘We didn’t know what to do. This was the mid-80s, you just didn’t do that type of thing and my sister, my father and I were incredibly wounded for such a long time.’

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.

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