In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, bereavement expert Jason Davidson meets Mark Clemmit.
This month, Jason is joined by broadcaster Mark Clemmit. Clem, as he's know to many, is a reporter on BBC One's Football Focus and Final Score. He's also one of the longest established voices on BBC Radio 5 Live and a former Times columnist. In this episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Clem talks to Jason about the contrasting experiences of losing his mum, Iris, at a young age and his dad, Brian, many years later.
Determined to be there
"I probably processed Mum's death without enough reflection, whereas Dad, it honestly was as perfect as these things can be. From a selfish point of view, at least, and I do believe he was completely comfortable as well, towards the end. But from not having been with Mum, I was absolutely, resolutely determined that he wasn't going to go without one of us there."
Time to say goodbye
"We were in hospital with him and despite the fact he was very ill, he had sepsis and his body was shutting down, he managed to open one eye and he said to me, 'It's time.' And I said, 'I just want to be clear about this, are you saying it's time to let you gently slip away?' And he said, 'Yes'."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Jason's chat with Clem. 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. Be sure to like and subscribe so you know when we've uploaded a new episode – there are more conversations coming soon.
Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
