Gemma Atkinson has shared how she was left in tears when a stranger messaged her to share what they wanted to do in memory of her late dad. The Hits Radio host lost her dad, David, when she was 17.
David died in 2002 from a heart attack and Gemma, now 37, has previously spoken about how her dad's colleague found him hunched over his desk, struggling to breathe or move, as he was having a heart attack. Gemma told Steph's Packed Lunch in June last year that within a few days they were told her dad was OK and put it down to stress and told him to slow down.
However, as the family prepared for him to come, the hospital called and said David had a massive heart attack in his sleep and sadly passed away. On April 27 this year, Gemma marked 20 years since his tragic death, sharing an old clip with her millions of followers.
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The sweet clip shows the former soap star as a child in a pretty dress with long white socks and fluffy pink boots. She's holding their pet pooch before accidentally letting her fall out of her arms. Alongside the clip, she shared: "20 years ago today you passed away Dad. That’s 7,300 days of missing you being here physically but knowing you’re always with me in some way.
She added: "I miss you every single day and I love you dearly. To anyone who’s experienced the loss of a parent, I understand your pain. Know that it does get easier, and in time you’ll be able to talk about them and smile, even laugh perhaps. It won’t always be tears, I know that much."
On Tuesday, Gemma, who is a supporter of the British Heart Foundation, took to Instagram to wish those running the London Marathon on behalf of the charity luck. She typed: "Good luck to everyone running the TCS @londonmarathon for @the_bhf. As you all know The BHF is a cause that is very close to my heart having lost my lovely dad at age 52 to a heart attack."
She went on to say: "A special shout out to the BHF-funded researcher, Professor Sanjay Sinha, who is running to raise funds to help get his Heart Healing Patch over the finish line!!! The patch could give millions affected by heart failure the chance to live healthier and longer lives. Go Team BHF - I'm backing you all the way!"
And after sharing a link to Sanjay's fundraising page, Gemma was surprised to receive a message from someone running the marathon who wanted to do something special for people who had lost their loved ones.
The message which Gemma screenshotted and shared to her Instagram Story read: "I am running for the BHF this year. It would be an honour to add your dad's name to my 'in memory of' list. I am writing these names on my arm as the inspiration to keep me going. It is my first marathon after only having a baby last year. It's going to be a tough race but so worth it for the work the British Heart Foundation do."
The follower then added: "Thank you for all your fitness posts, you are a true inspiration to postpartum women." Sharing the post, and emotional Gemma, from Bury, wrote her own message. "And now I'm crying. My dad was called David Atkinson. Thank you so much," she wrote with a string of heart emojis.
In December Gemma shared a sweet video of daughter Mia, now three, remembering late grandfather on his birthday. Marking his birthday on December 11, Gemma shared a video of her two-year-old daughter Mia talking about the moon. "Who can't get out the moon?" Gemma asked the toddler. Looking out the window, Mia replied: "Gangan David. Can't get out."
"Is he stuck?" Gemma asks to which Mia says: "Yeah," which she repeated when Gemma said: "Is he looking after you?" The youngster then starts to giggle into the camera. And earlier this year, Gemma shared a 'spooky' family story that gives her comfort over her dad's death.
After hosting the Rigby family's annual charity ball in aid of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Gemma revealed how their daughter Danielle, who suffered a severe head trauma after being hit by a car is now a nurse at the very hospital that helped save her. And Gemma, who suffered her own family scare, shared with her loyal fans how she believes her late father, David, 'swapped places' with her nephew who almost died as a baby. "The reason I'm involved with the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is a quite spooky story actually.
"My nephew, Tyler, he's absolutely fine now. Gorgeous, really handsome... just a beautiful lad. When he was a tiny baby he had meningitis and was really poorly. He was in the intensive care, all puffed up like fish, he was yellow and we were told he probably wasn't going to make it.
"The former Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actress shared how they all had to go to the hospital to say their goodbyes "And while we were up saying our goodbyes, my dad came with us and my dad genuinely said, 'I'm not religious, I don't know what I believe in but if there is anything, swap places. I've had a great life. I'm an older man, I'll swap with him."
She went on to say how they told him not to be saying 'things like that' but after that, Tyler started to make an incredible recovery. While Gemma said it was 'bizarre', tragically, her dad suffered a heart attack a matter of months later and died. "So, Tyler looks the spitting image of my dad, it's weird," the actress said. "We always say my dad swapped places with Tyler."
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