Lorraine on fight to stay positive
150 faults in new home, couple claim
FOR millions of lockdown viewers, Lorraine Kelly has been the bright and bubbly pick-me-up keeping their positivity on point.
But while cheerily lifting the spirits of her biggest audience in a decade, she has been dealing with her own private anguish – as her
80-year-old father fought for his life.
And this week Lorraine – ITV’S undisputed queen of morning telly
– talked to the Sunday People about having days when she was so distressed she struggled to go to work.
She said: “We went through a few very tough months thinking we were going to lose him. It was just awful
– but he was amazing, he rallied.
“This time last year he was in hospital and got out just before Covid started. He basically has heart failure.
“He also had a really bad scare and they thought he had lung cancer but it was just a massive, massive infection.”
Lorraine, 61 – currently running the
Positivity Project about surviving lockdown on her ITV morning show – said the toughest part for her, as for millions of others, has been not seeing her parents.
She revealed: “I haven’t seen my mum or dad since last July.
“That I have found the most difficult, not to be able to nip up and see them.
“You know what it’s like with parents – they don’t want to tell you there’s anything wrong so they say, ‘Yeah, I’m fine’ because they don’t want you to worry as they know there’s nothing you can do. So that’s really hard.”
Lorraine – based in London while dad John and mum Anne live in Scotland – says she has resigned herself to missing out on a family “gathering of the clans” next week to celebrate her father’s birthday.
A larger celebration abroad is now planned for September, when her mum turns 80.
Lorraine said: “The lovely thing about being a bit older is that you can give something back to your parents.
“My absolute dream is to be able to take them to Singapore to see my wee brother Graham and to be able to celebrate out there with his girlfriend.
“That will be such an emotional, amazing celebration. I just hope we can do it out of travel restrictions.”
Lorraine spoke of her relief that both her parents have now had the Covid vaccine jab. She said: “They felt grateful for having it done. They’re from a more formidable generation. They all want to have it and they’re not listening to all this conspiracy theory nonsense.
“They’re the generation that grew up when kids still died of childhood diseases.
“My mother had siblings who died from conditions you can now get vaccinated against, like German measles and scarlet fever – so they really know how important it is to get vaccinated.
“All the online scaremongering is infuriating. Imagine the state the world would be in if we didn’t have a vaccine – it would be an endless cycle of lockdowns.”
Lockdown has also made her realise how much she values simple human contact.
Lorraine said: “I miss the little things like being able to see people for a cup of tea, going to the pub for a wee drink, or going out for lunch and dinner and meeting people.
“I don’t think I realised what a tactile person I was before we were not allowed a cuddle.
“My wee dog is a border terrier and he runs away from me the whole time now because I cuddle him all the time.
“But he has actually saved me because I do take him out for a massive long walk every day. We walk for hours.
“That has kept me sane – and also the fact that I’m fortunate enough to still be working.” As a champion of finding the bright side, Lorraine is the first to admit how lockdown and family worries have challenged her.
She said: “I have quite a sunny disposition, but I’ve had days when I have really struggled to go in to work – I’ve just felt a bit overwhelmed by it all.
“I try to talk myself around. I say you are very lucky to have work and to do such an interesting job.
“I try to get myself out of that mood by speaking to my best friend in Spain, who I’ve not seen in over a year.
“And in the week if I’m having a bit of a wobble I talk to my mum, I talk to my daughter, I talk to my husband and I also talk to my work colleagues.
“People are realising in all this that it’s actually OK to feel wobbly emotionally.”
Lorraine also offered advice for how to survive lockdown with a loved one: “You have to give each other space or you’ll drive each other nuts.”
She and husband Steve have extra bedrooms for when she has to wake up early for the show, they walk the dog at different times and give themselves “me time” in different parts of the house or garden.
Lorraine added: “Thankfully Steve and I get on terribly well – so it’s working out very well.”
I’ve had days when I really struggled to go in
to work
CLOSE: Lorraine and dad on hols
A COUPLE say their Help to Buy dream became a nightmare as they claim to have found 150 problems in their new-build home in two years.
Amy Fenn, 24, and fiancé George Wattssturrock, 32, bought the £285,000 starter home under the flagship Government scheme.
But their joy turned to misery with a seemingly never-ending list of “snags”.
The couple claim there was damp and mould, uneven walls and unfinished stairs.
They say a sink was wonky, doors were wobbly, worktops damaged, tiling was iffy and drains were blocked with rubble.
Then – through sheer bad luck, not down to poor building – there were two floods.
In the second, a water tank exploded as horrified Amy and George lay in bed.
Amy said: “We heard a huge bang and gushing water, and found the tank in our boiler system had literally exploded. It has just been one thing after another.”
George, who works in quality assurance, said: “We were so excited to get our first home but it’s been a nightmare.”
The detached three-bed property was billed in a glossy brochure as being part of “a superb collection of stunning homes” by Suffolk builder Hopkins & Moore.
The first flood came in October 2019 when a toilet pipe burst, soaking the house. On that occasion, the couple were put in temporary accommodation for eight weeks.
A buildings expert has compiled a list of issues for the couple – who first logged concerns within days of getting the keys in 2018.
Care worker Amy added: “We took pictures of mould within the first week.”
Trapped
The house – which has a 10-year warranty backed by the National House Building Council – forms part of the Queen’s Meadow development in Hockering, Norfolk.
Under Help to Buy rules, Amy and George cannot sell without repaying a 20% equity loan. They would also face a £7,000 penalty for breaking the terms of their five-year fixed mortgage.
George said: “Help to Buy has meant we’re effectively unable to sell because of the costs we could incur. We just can’t afford it. We’re trapped here for the time being.”
Hopkins & Moore is a trading name of Suffolk housebuilder Hopkins Homes – coowned by fine art trader James Hopkins, 60, and wife Selina, 46. They appear in the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated £300million fortune.
Lee Barnard, managing director of Hopkins & Moore, said: “We are always disappointed when a customer is not satisfied.
“As part of our rigorous processes, all snagging items, which can feature in any new home, were satisfactorily completed and approved by the customer in January 2019.
“Many items did not, however, require attention as they related to work completed by the customer, met required standards, or were not covered by our or NHBC warranty.
“All heating systems in our homes are of a high quality, but as with all systems they need to be regularly maintained and serviced.
“While the recent pressure vessel incident took place outside of the two-year warranty period, we remain keen to support the couple in any way we can.”
We heard a huge bang and found the boiler had exploded