Richard Madeley has spoken out about the "devastating" loss of his and Judy Finnegan’s first child together.
The presenting duo had no cause for concern when they attended a "routine scan" appointment, so were horrified to be told their baby had died.
Richard told The Times newspaper: "Judy was 16 weeks pregnant when she went for a routine scan.
"But I’ll never forget the nurse hurrying towards me, an agonised expression on her face: ‘Mr Madeley, you need to come this way…’
"I joined Judy in the examination room. Tears were streaming down her face: ‘It’s died, Richard. It’s died.’
"The scan had revealed a perfect foetus with a non-existent heartbeat.
"It was utterly devastating: no warning; no earlier, gentle, indication of the possibility of catastrophe.
"Our baby had just died. And he was still in Judy’s womb."
Judy – who already had twins Dan and Tom from her first marriage – was then put into an induced labour and her husband’s "heart broke" when he thought about what she had to go through.
He added: "My heart broke for her as I waited outside the delivery room. What a dreadful experience: to go through the motions of childbirth, knowing what the grim outcome would be.
"As the father, you focus on the mother 100 per cent. Do you need support? You don’t even ask the question; you’re there to support your partner, nothing else.
"A day or so later, Judy was discharged and we went home, baby-less. It was horrible: empty, cold, defeated and drear."
To recover from the horrific experience, Richard took his wife on holiday but it wasn’t the relaxing experience he’d hoped for.
He explained: "I booked a week in the south of France, and took her there to find some kind of solace.
"The sun shone, but every beach restaurant seemed to be crammed with newborns, cooing in their mothers’ arms. It was torture for Judy, and she – like so many mothers of stillborns or miscarriages – blamed herself; felt she’d somehow failed.
"It was my job – like countless men before and after me – to assure her that she hadn’t."
Three months after the lass of their son, Judy found out she was pregnant with their son Jack, now 32, and they then had daughter Chloe a year later.
Richard Madeley reflects on devastating baby loss
