Robert Rinder had to hold back tears as he reflected on a Good Morning Britain interview with a terminally ill teenager.
Presenters Rob and Kate Garraway were interviewing 16-year-old Liz Hatton, who met with Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, and her family during Friday’s (October 4) show. Liz has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and went to meet the Prince and Princess of Wales.
During her appearance on the breakfast show today, Rob and Kate surprised Liz with some very special tickets to SIX: The Musical and she was also asked to photograph them.
“The producers of the West End show SIX: The Musical. They’ve heard how brilliant you are at taking photographs and they’ve invited you to attend the show and they’ve arranged for you to photograph the pre-show warm up,” Kate and Rob revealed.
Rob seemed emotional as he asked her “do you think you’re up to it?” as Kate said she couldn’t wait to see the photos. Liz said she was “blown away” to be given the opportunity and described it as a “dream come true”.
To conclude their interview, Rob asked how proud Liz’s mum was of her. “We’re proud of her every day; she’s got so much determination. She isn’t scared of dying; she doesn’t want to leave us behind but she’s not scared. She gets up and she lives every day. I’m not sure I could do it if I was her. She’s amazing. I’ll get told off if I cry so I better not!”
After the interview, Rob became even more emotional as he heaped praise on the family. “It’s Jewish New Year today and it’s all about renewal and sometimes we really just forget with all the darkness and bleakness in the world to be optimistic. What a gift it is for Liz to remind us how possible that is despite all the bleakness.”
During a recent chat, Liz described the Prince and Princess as “really human and really natural”.
“There was nothing about them that suggested they were superior. They were just really human to be honest and really natural. There was never a moment of awkwardness. It was normal to talk to them. They talked a lot about my photography,” she told The Mirror.
The Prince and Princess of Wales later put up a tweet to say: “A pleasure to meet Liz at Windsor today. A talented young photographer whose creativity and strength has inspired us both. Thank you for sharing your photos and story with us. W&C.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV1 and ITVX