Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary got emotional on This Morning as they paid tribute to their late colleague Matty Lock, who tragically took his own life last year at just 19. The pair was joined by Matty’s parents, Christine and Richard Lock, who opened up about their son’s struggles with ADHD and how they’re now trying to raise awareness around the condition.
Dermot described Matty as someone full of “passion and enthusiasm” and said he was “a breath of fresh air” whenever he appeared on the show. Alison added: “We absolutely adored your boy, we loved him, didn’t we?”
Christine recalled how Matty would talk to everyone in the community, always eager to help. She said: “He was caring, sensitive – but that can sometimes be an ADHD trait. That you can be overly sensitive, basically emotional dysregulation can come into it”, reported the Daily Record.
Matty had been diagnosed with autism early on, but Christine said his ADHD had been missed. “Lack of focus, inattention to things he wasn’t interested in, disorganisation – everything last minute. If he wanted to do something, ‘I’ll do it now,’” she explained.
She suspected there was more to it than just autism: “He was very sociable, so the autism sid,e I thought, ‘Perhaps this is ADHD as well,’ but we didn’t realise that the two could co-exist.”
The conversation took a heartbreaking turn when Alison brought up addiction. “Our Matthew did struggle with that, didn’t he?” she asked.
Christine nodded, saying the issues began around age 17. Richard added: “Within the ADHD, 50 per cent of people find some sort of addiction – whether that be gambling, drugs, alcohol, or social media. There are a lot of people who are struggling in that area, but they just don’t know that it’s linked to ADHD.”
In October 2023, Matty’s death was officially ruled a suicide. The inquest revealed he had taken ketamine and alcohol before he died, and that he’d refused help despite concerns about his substance use.
Following his death, This Morning paid tribute, calling Matty “a delightful young man” whose “passion for vacuum cleaners and general mechanics was infectious.” They added: “His family came to the studio and they were so proud that he’d turned a childhood hobby into a career. We will miss him and send our condolences to his family.”
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