Alan Titchmarsh was close to tears after interviewing actor James Murray on his ITV show, Love Your Weekend.
James, 49, best known for his TV roles in Primeval and The Crown, appeared on the show to discuss his charity work following the tragic loss of his baby daughter, leaving Alan, 75, emotional.
In 2009, he and his wife, actress Sarah Parish, lost their daughter Ella-Jayne, aged just eight months, to a congenital heart defect.
By speaking openly about the tragic loss of their daughter, James and Sarah, who married in 2007, decided to try and channel their devastating loss into something positive.
James explained how he and his wife, after Ella-Jayne’s death, spent two months working in an orphanage in Cambodia before setting up the Murray Parish Trust, which raises funds for paediatric emergency medicine in the south of England.
Alan Titchmarsh was close to tears after interviewing actor James Murray on his ITV show, Love Your Weekend.
James, 49, appeared on the show to talk about his charity work following the tragic loss of his baby daughter, leaving Alan, 75, emotional.
By speaking openly about the tragic loss of their daughter, James and Sarah, who married in 2007, decided to try to channel their devastating loss into something positive.
Speaking on Sunday’s episode, gardening expert Alan asked: ‘You’ve done a huge amount of work for Southampton Hospital thanks to Ella-Jayne.
“They lost a son and they’ve raised millions, the two of them, with the Murray Parish Trust, for the equipment of Southampton Hospital. And that goes on, presumably, doesn’t it?”
James, almost in tears, explained: “This keeps happening. This just keeps going on… We lost Ella-Jayne in early 2009 and we founded the charity a few years later.”
Addressing the tragic loss of his daughter, the emotional actor continued: ‘We’ve raised, I think around £5m now for paediatric facilities in the south of England, predominantly, as you say, Southampton Children’s Hospital, but that serves eight counties.
Fighting back tears, she added: “We set up that charity like a lot of people who have been through trauma do, as a way of giving back to society and as therapy, as a place to put the pain. And it just grew.”
Speaking to the MailOnline in 2019, Sarah said she had had a “very easy life” before her daughter’s death, but the harrowing experience had made her “a better person”.
She said: ‘It changed us as people, definitely. It has to. And actually, the older you get, the more people you meet who have lost children.
‘A lot of people lose their children in much worse circumstances than Jim and I. Ella-Jayne was only eight months old and very ill anyway, so we were already prepared for whatever might happen.
James explained how he and his wife, after Ella-Jayne’s passing, spent two months working at an orphanage in Cambodia before setting up the Murray Parish Trust.
James and his wife, actress Sarah Parish (pictured) married in 2007 and have another daughter, Nell, but have spoken candidly about the loss of Ella-Jayne.
‘Although I’ve met people along the way who had a healthy child, everything was fine, and suddenly they’re gone.
“I know people who lost their children at 16. It’s unbearable. It will change you forever as a person. I think it changed us for the better.”
The 56-year-old star has previously spoken about how she likes to write Ella-Jayne a birthday card which she then saves for her and James to keep.
In an interview with OK!, Sarah said: “Every year I write him a birthday card and keep it for us,” adding: “There are sad days, but also happy days. We have a lot to be thankful for.”
After being born five weeks premature and diagnosed with a hole in her heart while Sarah was still pregnant, the couple spent the next four months trying everything to save their daughter.
After their birth, they spent the next four months in intensive care following two emergency operations and sadly passed away in January of the following year.