Carol Vorderman has shared a touching tribute to her late mum for Mother's Day. After a week of fun at Cheltenham Festival, Carol posted some sentimental photographs of her and her mum Jean, who died of terminal cancer in 2017, on Instagram, saying that she, her children and her mum "existed as one".
Maths whizz Carol is very proud of her achievements given her upbringing, which was led by single mum Jean after her dad, Tony, walked out a few weeks after Carol was born. Carol recently told Michelle Visage on the latter's podcast that her dad had an affair when her mum was pregnant with her, but he didn't tell Jean until after Carol had been born.
Now 62-year-old Carol and her older siblings grew up in poverty, receiving free school meals and sharing a room until she was eight. Many years later, in the early 1980s, it was Jean that noticed an advert for "a woman with good mathematical skills" to appear on Countdown, and forged her daughter's signature in application to get her on the show.
Read more: Carol Vorderman stuns fans with Cher impression and dance moves in little black dress
As people up and down the country celebrated their mums and other women in their life on Mothering Sunday yesterday, March 19, Carol posted a sweet tribute to her late mum on Instagram. "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY," she wrote, alongside a collection of photos from six years ago featuring Jean and Carol's children, Katie and Cameron, and other members of their family.
"Mum had lived with me & Katie & Cam (photo of the 4 of us) for decades: we existed as one. I'd employed her since 1986. She ran my office. She lived with us through my marriage, and all years since.
"She was our everyday and I adored her. She died just weeks after that party in her bed surrounded by her family."
Carol announced her beloved mum's death following her funeral on June 19, 2017. "Some days are tough, today was one of them. Today was my amazing Mum's funeral," Carol penned at the time. "Rest In Peace Jean Vorderman You will always be loved."
Yesterday, like many mums, Carol received a bouquet from her son Cameron. But the flowers carried an extra special meaning, reflecting on their final Mother's Day with Jean.
"My flowers from Cameron," Carol wrote. "He thought about it.
"Red Rose is Nana. White is Cam. Yellow flowers he says are for me supporting them through life ☺️ & the colour of my party dress that day."
"I'm so lucky to be genuinely loved by both of my children, and to love them back in equal measure. God I'm lucky.
"And it makes me beam smiling every day. We only have right now to show the people we love how much we care. I hope you have a wonderful day with your peeps."
Carol and Cameron had a "grand family day out" last week as they attended Ladies' Day at Cheltenham Festival together. Their day out with "great old friends" came after Carol cleared up rumours that she had been "having an affair" with Gareth Gates, and cosying up to politician-turned-reality-star Matt Hancock.
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