David Cameron gave a moving insight into how his two young children, Nancy and Arthur, three, are coping with the loss of their six-year-old brother.
Speaking at length for the first time about the tragic death of his son Ivan, the Conservative leader revealed his five-year-old daughter's vision of the afterlife is especially rosy. "Nancy takes the view that Ivan is in heaven now and he is doing things other children do that he couldn't do – like walking and talking and eating chocolate. And that was lovely for her to say that."
During his appearance on Alan Titchmarsh's chat show the politician also admitted that life since losing epilepsy and cerebral palsy sufferer Ivan - who passed away in February - had been "very difficult".
"We always knew Ivan wouldn't live forever because he had this very rare condition and he had been incredibly ill in his short life. But we never expected him to die so young or so suddenly," revealed the 42-year-old.
He added that he and wife Samantha have been comforted by 11,000 "lovely" letters, including many from families in the same situation.
"It was just fascinating to read from people you've never met and people you may never meet but who felt moved to write a letter and enclose a picture and tell you their story," he said.
"And that was sort of helpful in a way. We just sat around and read them together because what they'd been through we were going through and so that meant something".
