Holly Willoughby became visibly emotional as she discussed the dangers of social media with campaigner Ellen Roome MBE who lost her 14-year-old son in unexplained circumstances
Holly Willoughby was emotional as she discussed the heartbreaking topic
Presenter Holly Willoughby shared her fears for children and the use of social media in a touching conversation with campaigner Ellen Roome MBE.
Ellen sat down with Holly, 45, for the third episode of her Together YouTube show, which is available on Tuesday 4th August. The pair discussed the heartbreaking events that led to Ellen’s groundbreaking campaign surrounding children and social media after her 14-year-old son, Julian ‘Jools’ Sweeney died in unexpected circumstances in April 2022.
Speaking with Holly, Ellen shared how Jools’ death inspired her to search for answers as the pair highlighted her campaign to change the law, after believing he may have died attempting a viral challenge. Her story has seen her fighting for bereaved parents to be given greater access to their children’s digital data and for social media companies to take greater accountability for the content teenagers and children are exposed to on their platforms.
Speaking on the topic, Holly, who is a mum of three to Harry, 17, Belle, 15, and 11-year-old Chester, shared her own fears as she said: “For all parents out there, I think that and speaking on my own behalf with this as well, it’s such a scary thing social media and you want to protect your kids. And the fear is something like what happened to you, will happen to your own child, and it doesn’t bear thinking about.”
She added: “I think people want to get on board, because they want to do something and they want to see change. They want to protect their kids.”
Holly added that as a parent herself she struggles to comprehend what the best way to protect her children from the dark side of social media.
She said: “Sometimes as people we don’t really want to look into the dark corners because it’s too much. How can you bear that? How can you hold that pain?
“There might be people that will say, ‘Ok ban social media,’ but all that’s going to do is push our children into corners of the internet, you know you think we have the wild west now, but we can’t imagine what’s out there. What then? What do we do then?”
Ellen achieved a first in the UK last month when she won her battle to have Jools’ inquest reopened after the original conclusion was quashed at the High Court. The distraught mum wept as judges granted her bid to re-open the inquest.
Ellen tells her devastating story in full in episode three of Holly Willoughby Together, available on YouTube and other digital streaming platforms from 7:00am on Tuesday 4th August.
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