Martin Lewis became the victim of a nasty troll on Twitter after he opened up about losing his mum as a child. The money saving expert gave an interview on Loose Women to promote a new helpline he has launched with Grief Encounter charity, which allows bereaved children to call and talk to counsellors for free. The tweet directed at Martin read: "Absolute disgrace you today on Loose Women, you are a grown man, I lost my mam when I was 15, I don't act like you or is a publicity stunt."
But Martin, 46, was quick to clarify: "Of course it's a publicity stunt as I said on air! While I hated every moment, I was there as I have a voice and with that comes responsibility. I used it to direct children to the new grief helpline. Not sure if your tweet was meant to be hurtful. If it was, well done you succeeded."
Martin lost his mum just before his 12th birthday
Martin had also tweeted earlier: "I'm delighted to report that I've just found out @griefencounter website crashed for a bit today after huge traffic. That's why I put myself out there – so that people who need help would find there's somewhere to get it. :) ."
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During the interview, an emotional Martin spoke about his involvement with the charity and his own childhood trauma which saw his mother die in a horrific car crash just before his 12 birthday. "I am still now, 35 odd years later, still scarred by what happened to me. You heard me there, it was a life-defining moment that changed the way I acted and behaved," said Martin.
When asked about memories of his mother, he said: "I struggle to remember anything other than the pain. What I'm trying to do is learn to remember the wonderful person I lost, not learn to remember I lost a wonderful person." When probed, Martin welled up and said: "I so don't want to be here right now, but sometimes, when you have a voice, you have a responsibility and that's why I'm here. So forgive me for going defensive but I'm trying."
The money saving expert has helped launch a child helpline
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He continued: "One of the reasons for being on this programme, I'm afraid that there are people in this audience right now, who will know someone. One child in every classroom will lose a parent before they are 18. And when I walked back to that classroom the next day, nobody said anything, because they weren't told what to do. It was as if it had never happened. It was as if I never had a mother who I had just lost.
"So the reason that I'm sitting here with my buttocks clenched, talking to you and doing this right now, is frankly to plug the helpline. If you hear of somebody in this position, there is somebody they can call. They can go and get counselling. You can't cure grief, but they won't have the scars of the depth that I do."
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