Gary Barlow has opened up about the heartbreaking day his daughter was stillborn at full term.
The Take That star and his wife Dawn have children Daniel, 18, Emily, 16, and Daisy, nine, together but they lost their daughter Poppy in 2012 and Gary has detailed the tragic time in his new autobiography ‘A Better Me’, due to be released on October 4.
In an excerpt obtained by The Sun, Gary writes: "Poppy Barlow was born in the evening on Saturday, 4 August, just before nine o’clock. When she was born it was like a light came into the room. It was lovely, it was gorgeous, we both took turns cuddling her, and we took pictures. It was one of the best hours of my life I’ve ever experienced in the midst of the hardest time of my life. It was very powerful, that hour was. Poppy looked perfect and for an hour she was alive to us. She’s in your arms, this beautiful little daughter of ours, a sister to our three other children.
"Then the reality comes rushing into the room and all the air leaves your lungs. It felt like someone had a hand held tight at my throat. The nurses start hovering and they want to take her away. What we experienced and saw over those 24 hours no one should have to see or have to go through.
"There’s no sadder sight than seeing a mum with her dead baby in her arms, willing it back to life with all her being."
And Gary, 47, hopes that sharing his story will help other people.
He said: "After Poppy died, people wrote to me about suffering the same awful experience. Many had kept so much of it locked away in secret.
"I’ve wondered about the value and purpose in sharing something so private, but I’d have been denying Poppy her legacy not to. Maybe sharing our story will help others talk about theirs."
Gary Barlow details tragedy of stillborn daughter
