Josie Gibson became emotional as she hosted Tuesday's This Morning and spoke about the death of Dame Olivia Newton-John.
During the latest instalment of the ITV daytime show, Josie and her co-host Craig Doyle spoke to Grease actor Barry Pearl live from his home in Los Angeles. Barry, 72, who played the role of T-Bird Doody in the much-loved 1978 movie, spoke very of highly of his friend and former co-star.
Of course, Dame Olivia played the role of Sandy Olsson in Grease while John Travolta portrayed her love interest Danny Zuko. At one point during his chat with Josie and Craig, Barry spoke about how he and Olivia would sign off emails to one another.
Mother-of-one Josie told him: "Barry, those words are just beautiful, they're absolutely beautiful," as Craig added: "Take care of yourself today Barry, it's gonna be a hard day for you, take care." Josie continued: "We're sending you so much love because it must be very, very hard for you because we know how close you were."
Barry replied: "Thank you very much for having me on and to speak to the collective heart of the fans because you folks are the ones who keep all of us relevant." With his voice breaking, Barry added: "And she was well aware of that and she treated all of her fans with grace and dignity and love and light... thank you."
As the camera cut back to Craig and Josie, the former Big Brother was seen getting visibly upset as Craig commented: "He spoke so eloquently didn't he?" Struggling to compose herself as tears filled her eyes, Josie simply said: "I know," and she later admitted: "Barry got me there, Barry definitely got me there."
It was announced on Monday that Dame Olivia had passed away at the age of 73 at her ranch in California. The actress' husband John Easterling announced the sad news as he shared a statement via Olivia's Facebook page.
It read: "Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.
"Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer. Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund (ONJFoundationFund.org).
"Olivia is survived by her husband John Easterling; daughter Chloe Lattanzi; sister Sarah Newton-John; brother Toby Newton-John; nieces and nephews Tottie, Fiona and Brett Goldsmith; Emerson, Charlie, Zac, Jeremy, Randall, and Pierz Newton-John; Jude Newton-Stock, Layla Lee; Kira and Tasha Edelstein; and Brin and Valerie Hall."
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.
