In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, bereavement expert Jason Davidson meets Gail Porter.
TV presenter and media personality Gail Porter is a familiar face from 90s Saturday morning kids’ TV, having fronted shows including Fully Booked and Live & Kicking, before graduating to more grown-up programmes such as Top of the Pops. She has a teenage daughter and currently lives between London and Scotland. In this episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Gail shares the story of her father’s sudden and unexpected death in Spain, which coincided with the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
Taking comfort
“Watching Mum, who was alone with cancer, it was long, horrible and awful. With Dad, I spoke to him in the morning, he’d gone for a pint, he wouldn’t have even known it had happened. So, in a weird way, that made me feel a bit better. He was in the sunshine, he’d seen his mates, he’d gone for a lie down, there you go.”
Coping with grief
“Grief is one of those things that never leaves you, ever. But you don't want it to ruin your life as well and the person that’s gone wouldn't want your life to be ruined. So, you can grieve and try and be positive and remember.”
Be kind to yourself. The person you’re caring for or grieving for wouldn’t want you to push yourself to a limit where you’re actually not enjoying your own life."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Gail’s chat with Jason. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode.
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Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
