Holly Willoughby was close to tears on This Morning as co-star Julia Bradbury opened up about her battle with breast cancer.
Julia was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and has largely been absent from screens after undergoing a mastectomy, just a month after being handed the devastating news. On Thursday night, she will front an incredibly moving ITV documentary about her experiences, Breast Cancer and Me, which will follow Julia's story, from emotional video diary entries to navigating having to tell her young children the diagnosis.
Speaking about what people can expect from the programme and what she's been through over the past year, Julia joined Holly and co-host Phillip Schofield in the This Morning studio and told them: "I didn’t suddenly want to drop off the face of the earth and not talk about what happened to the lump and mammograms. I know that by being open about this, people feel I’m there with them through some of their journeys and it has broken some of the stigmas about breast cancer and talking about it and the impact it has on everybody in your life.”
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A particularly heart wrenching clip from Julia's documentary sees her talking about 'saying goodbye' to her breast before her mastectomy, with her saying: "I just said thank you for everything we've been through together; you know I breast fed my children from both of my breasts; I've jumped into the sea, been running and walking up mountains and my boobs have been there."
That clip played out as Julia sat with Holly and Phillip and, as the camera cut back to the studio, Holly teared up, telling Julia: "That got me!" before Julia admitted: "I can't look at that without it making me..." Holly replied: "I'm not surprised!"
Julia also opened up to Holly and Phillip about when she revealed her cancer diagnosis to her children, explaining: "Telling your children you have cancer is the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do in your life. You also don’t know how much you tell them to be realistic, and how much do you need to protect them.. It’s a very tricky balance. I don’t think any parent really knows what to do.”
She added, “One of my children said, ‘Can I still hug you’ and the other said, ‘Is it contagious?” I never thought about either of those two things. You just don’t know what’s going through their mind. You do your best, but it’s a very difficult thing to navigate.”
