Like mother, like daughter...
To celebrate Mother’s day, Susanna’s mum, Sue, joined us on the shoot. Sue, 76, is a retired nurse and health visitor and lives in London. She is also mother to Susanna’s two older brothers.
SUE SAYS…
One of my proudest moments was when Susanna performed the Viennese Waltz to the song You
Light Up My Life on Strictly – because that’s exactly what she did for me. I love both my boys dearly, but when the midwife held Susanna up and said “It’s a girl”, I burst into tears; it was the most unexpected gift.
Susanna and I did have some challenging years. When she turned 13, we started having a lot of spats and I felt as though I’d lost my daughter. It all came to a head one night when she was about 15 – she walked out after a big row and when she eventually came back, I said, “either we can make each other’s lives hell or we can really support each other.” Later that night she came downstairs and said, “Mum, we’ll make it work.” We’ve been great friends ever since. The one thing I regret in my life is the hurt I caused when Susanna’s father and I divorced. But it also meant that I suddenly had to earn my own living and develop a career I never thought I’d have. and actually, I think that made me a better mother.
I’ll never forget the day Susanna’s first son was born. She had a birthing pool at home and it was all planned out – then I got a call while I was in a meeting saying she’d had to go to hospital and she wanted to see me. I ended up spending the whole night there and when Sam arrived safely by emergency C-section, it was the most magical moment.
I love watching Susanna on TV. I hate it when people say “Oh she just reads off the autocue” though
– I know how hard that job is, particularly when it’s live TV. What do I think of Piers Morgan? No comment!
SUSANNA SAYS…
Looking back, I was probably a bit of a handful when I was younger. In my teens, I had a six-inch quiff with shaved sides, I was going out late and no doubt I went out with boys that Mum wasn’t so keen on. But she was always incredibly patient and I now know that can’t have been easy.
The pivotal moment in our relationship was when my older brothers left home for university. It was just the two of us living together for a long time and it felt as if it was us against the world. I think that forged a very strong bond between us.
I love nothing more than going to Mum’s flat for Sunday lunch. She lives about 30 minutes away, so I’ll take the boys over and Mum will cook all the traditional food that her mum used to make, including her famous raspberry cheesecake – it’s my favourite dish in the world.