This Morning’s Alison Hammond comforts grieving dad as he cries ‘it’s a tragedy’
A guest on This Morning broke down in tears as he opened up about the tragic death of his son
This Morning star Alison Hammond comforted a grieving dad on Monday (October 27) as he cried, “It’s a tragedy”.
During the latest edition of the hit ITV programme, Alison and Dermot O’Leary shared an “incredible story” with viewers.
They spoke to Robert Meiklem, whose son Robbie tragically took his own life in 2023 at the age of 19.
The family made the decision to donate his organs, but despite not knowing who they’d gone to, Robert had a gut feeling after watching Colin Gray speak about his life-changing heart transplant on TV.
“Well, that gut feeling has sparked an inspiring mission for Robert and confirmed that it really was his son’s heart beating on inside of Colin,” Alison explained.
Robert revealed that it was “such a shock” to learn of his son’s passing, which had a devastating effect on his family and the local football team he played for, reports Wales Online.
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Robert Meiklem’s son passed away at the age of 19(Image: ITV)
“I could get into details, but I don’t want to get into details. I found my son that night, and I find it hard-hitting to properly speak on live TV about it, but I think I need to,” he said.
“He made me feel so comfortable that night and then he went and done that. I managed to find him, do CPR and get a heartbeat, which ultimately led to Colin because we decided to donate his organs… Five people’s lives were saved that night.”
Colin then explained that he had been suffering from cardiomyopathy, which led to him having a pace maker fitted in 2009. However, things progressively got “worse” for him.
“I was in a really dark place,” Robert admitted. He then revealed that he watched Colin’s heart transplant seven times on a documentary, and soon reached out to him.
The pair quickly struck up a friendship, before Robert realised that his son’s heart was, in fact, inside Colin’s chest.
The guest became tearful during the interview(Image: ITV)
“Robert, what do you want Robbie’s legacy to be? He has this incredible legacy, he’s helped five people live. But going forward, if people are watching this, what message do you want to share?” Dermot then asked.
Robert instantly teared up, with Alison quickly reaching over to support the grieving guest.
“It’s a tragedy. I’ve lost my son, but I just want awareness for mental health. If we can save one life… The stigma needs to get gone now,” he then said.
“Robbie was a lovely boy, but he’s gone now because nobody knew… We can look into each other’s eyes but we don’t know. I’ve been there, I was on the edge of that cliff. It was sink or swim for me, and I decided to swim.”
After watching the touching interview, several This Morning viewers shared their thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), with one person writing: “A very sad story.”
Another added: “Poor man. And poor boy,” while a third said: “This is so emotional. What a heartbreaking story.”
