TV legend Gloria Hunniford’s joy at becoming a great grandmother is tinged with sadness, as her own daughter, Caron Keating, is no longer here to celebrate being a first-time granny. The popular former Blue Peter presenter was just 41 when she died of breast cancer in 2004 – meaning the mum to Gabriel, 29, and Charlie, 32, will never meet Freddie, her eldest son’s baby.
Gloria says: “Of course, I can’t help but be very emotional about Caron, because she would have adored Freddie, she would have been so thrilled. Charlie was her first born and she would have really taken to being a grandmother, so the day that Freddie was born, I was very much thinking of her as well.
“Freddie is such a joy, he’s beautiful and when I see him, I think Caron would have been having the most marvellous time, because I’ve got such vivid memories of her with her own two sons.”
Despite adoring Freddie – who was born last month – Loose Women presenter Gloria, who at 86 is planning a one-woman show, will not be answering to the title ‘great granny.’ She says: “I prefer Super Gran, or maybe I’ll be called Super Glue, because I’m always there to see him! I wasn’t called Granny either. My grandsons initially called me Nanna, but they ended up calling me Glo.”
And her Super Gran duties will not mean streamlining her workload, according to Gloria, who also presents the BBC1 consumer show Rip-Off Britain, alongside Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin.
Hoping to still be working at 90, she says: “In my head, I’m not 86 at all. I’m more in my 50s or something like that. In work nobody makes me feel like I’m in my 80s – they don’t treat me like an old codger. I started broadcasting in 1969 and sometimes they appreciate the experience and the knowledge.
“I used to think that all the researchers and crew could be my children. Now I think some of them could be my grandchildren, but they don’t make me feel like that and that’s a great joy. Medical issues might stop me, or television might change, but I feel lucky that I have got this far and that I’m still working. I still have that zest for doing what I do. I like the fact that I learn something every day – I’m lucky to have a job that I love.”
And work was a lifeline after the death of Gloria’s husband Stephen Way two years ago, after 30 years together. Meanwhile, she has no plans to look for love again. She says: “Some people will say, ‘would romance be an option?’ But my view is absolutely not. At 86, I have no interest in finding a new partner.
“So, socialisation, both in and outside work, becomes more important and your friends – old friends and new friends – all come into play much more than they might have done if you were in a relationship. I keep myself busy and that’s the way that I’ve tried to carve out a different way of life. Because when you lose your partner, it suddenly does make you feel a bit aware of mortality.
“Stephen was 86 when he died, but a very young 86. I thought, if we were lucky enough, we might have hit our 90s together, because we were both reasonably fit and active, but sadly that wasn’t to be.”
Carving out a new life has made Gloria remain determinedly open-minded to making new friends. And recently, she has become close to a family she met by chance after sitting next to them at the theatre.
Gloria, who lives in Sevenoaks, Kent, recalls: “I went to see Phantom of the Opera and I met a really lovely new family and I’ve got to know them very well. They’ve taken me on board like a family member and I love them – the father, the daughter, her husband and their children.
“We agreed to meet up, so I’ve been to their house for dinner and we’ve been out to dinner. They’ve invited me for New Year’s Day. It’s really lovely. You’re never too old to make new friends and good friends. You make casual friends, but these are good friends and I hope they’re always friends. We keep in touch regularly by text and see each other as and when we can.”
This positivity has kept Gloria going, even during the darkest days following Caron’s death. “There were times when I thought I would never make it, because it’s worse than you can ever even think of,” she says, of losing a child.
“Somehow, you think ‘I have a lovely husband, lovely sons, lovely friends and lovely family, I’ve got to pick myself up.’ You have to begin to carry on with your life. Otherwise, it could take you out. But I think about Caron every day. I think about clothes she would have loved – there are things to remind you all the time.”
One of Gloria’s most poignant reminders is white feathers. “Some people think it’s a crazy idea, but I don’t care,” she says. “Caron believed that when you found an isolated white feather it was an angel’s calling card. And I do find them in the most unusual places. It could have been a stressful day and I’ll come home and on the doorstep there’s a beautiful white fluffy feather. I think ‘now that’s Caron’s calling card.’
“I don’t care if people think it’s silly, if it brings you a bit of peace and joy at the time, then so what? I pick them up and hide them down my bra if I’m out and about and then I put them in jam jars all over the house. I find them a comfort.”
Gloria, who received the Freedom of the City of London last month for her outstanding contribution to public life, began her showbusiness career aged six, singing in her native Northern Ireland. She released several singles and even supported Roy Orbison on tour.
But in 1969 she switched to broadcasting, carving out a successful career on shows such as Pebble Mill and the chat show Sunday Sunday, which saw her interview a host of stars from Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day to James Stewart and Kirk Douglas. Her memories of those interviews have inspired her to put together a Hollywood Heroes show, which will take place in the spring at London’s Langham Hotel and will, hopefully, be followed by a tour.
The money raised will go to the Caron Keating Foundation, that Gloria set up in her daughter’s name. “I’m about to pay out 88 grants to different charities dealing with cancer. I’m very proud of that and I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to keep it going for 25 years,” Gloria says. “We don’t aim to raise millions and millions, but we raise enough to make a difference; I think Caron would be proud of what we are doing in her name to help people.”
*For more information about The Caron Keating Foundation see HERE
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