Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard paid tribute to Tom Parker after his death was announced by his heartbroken wife. Kelsey Parker confirmed on Wednesday (March 30) that her The Wanted star husband had died, aged 33, a year and a half after telling fans he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we confirm Tom passed away peacefully earlier today with all of his family by his side," Kelsey said in an Instagram post alongside a grey and white picture of the singer, from Bolton. "Our hearts are broken, Tom was the centre of our world and we can't imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence."
The mum-of-two added: "We are truly thankful for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we all unite to ensure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children. Thank you to everyone who has supported in his care throughout, he fought until the very end. I’m forever proud of you."
Tom told fans he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma in October 2020. It came shortly before he and his wife Kelsey, who married in July 2018, welcomed their second child, a son named Bodhi. They also have a daughter Aurelia who they welcomed in July 2019.
During Thursday's GMB, Susanna and Ben reflected on the tragic news and remembered his appearance on the programme alongside his The Wanted bandmates - Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, and Jay McGuinness - during its festive special towards the end of last year.
Opening the morning show today, Ben said: "I’m sure all of you have heard the news, the very, very sad news, about Tom Parker from The Wanted who sadly died from his battle from a brain tumour.
"It was one of those moments that I think we were all desperately hoping wasn’t going to happen, the battle that he was taking on and the treatment that he was having was going to work."
Susanna then recalled how he was "so much fun" and "just kept smiling through" when he appeared on the show for a pre-recorded interview which aired on December 25 and saw them discussing the band's reunion as well as Tom's ill health. The chat ended with Ben promising that Tom could appear on the celebrity version of his show Tipping Point as he was a fan.
Ben said: "You could see he was so full of energy and fun and I think that the band getting back together was very much centred around his illness and his diagnosis."
He explained: "And they were still making plans for what was going to happen and they were on tour, and where they were going to go, and they were excited and he was excited to be there. And it was so lovely to have him with them and them all together."
"It was very notable how much The Wanted cared for him behind the scenes," Susanna commented. "Even though he still had lots of energy and was smiling and laughing they really had that arm around him the whole time.
"We really are so sad about Tom. Tragically young, 33 years old, incredibly cruel what has happened to him. We send our love to the band, to the team around them and especially to Kelsey and the children."
