Lorraine Kelly has paid an emotional tribute to an ITV team member who passed away aged 33 from cancer, months after giving birth to her first child.
Hannah Hawkins, who was a digital producer for ITV, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time while pregnant with son Rory.
The Scottish TV presenter, 63, re-shared a social media post by Hannah's husband Tom, confirming that she died on Friday (November 3), describing it as “the saddest news”.
Tom’s post read: “Hannah Hawkins 11.12.89 - 3.11.23. For someone whose love language was gift giving, leaving us the day before my birthday was really not the one. I wish you’d kept the receipt."He continued: “There is no way I can pay tribute or sum you up in one post. In fact I could write an essay on how unfair this is. That you miss out on seeing Rory growing up, that he won’t be able to feel the love of his mum, and that this terrible illness took hold so quickly.
“But that’s not how you saw it. The remarkable person that you were, the phrase you used so many times over the last few weeks – and it set me off every time: “I’m so at peace with the life I’ve lived” is something we can all admire.
“The fact that right until the end you were putting others’ feelings first and making us all laugh was just you to a tee."
Speaking about their son Rory, Tom then wrote: “Your life can be defined simply by love, friendship and strength and I’ll make sure these are cornerstones of Rory’s life. I want him to know how much everyone loved his mum, and how much love you gave. How you would say to me in any of my dark moments, ‘remember you are so loved’.
“I want him to know that you were someone who could walk into a room of strangers and come out having made friends for life, and that our social calendar was always so full we physically couldn’t fit in everyone we wanted to see.
“I also want him to know the bravery you showed everyday, facing into anything life threw at you with strength of a warrior, a smile on your face and laughter in your eyes.”
The post ended with: “This is the legacy you leave for our little boy, this and so much more. Thank you for 13 amazing years. Even brighter than the moon.”
