Gloria Hunniford is facing profound grief as she bids farewell to her husband Stephen Way, who passed away at 85 after suffering a series of debilitating strokes. The Loose Women star and veteran broadcaster, aged 84, had been married to Stephen for over 25 years. She expressed that his passing would create "the most enormous void, not only in my life, but our entire family".
The family released a heartfelt statement: "It is with huge sadness and very heavy hearts that we share the passing of Stephen Way, Gloria's beloved husband, who lost his battle yesterday afternoon. Stephen had been heroically fighting his illness..
. but always with great tenacity and a positive spirit. He was an incredibly kind, generous, and caring man, with a delightfully quirky sense of humour, which remained till the end.
" This isn't the first time the pioneering broadcaster, who made history as the UK's first woman to have her own daily radio show on BBC Radio 2 for 13 years, has experienced loss. In 2004, Gloria faced the heartbreaking death of her daughter Caron Keating, a former Blue Peter presenter, to breast cancer at the age of 41, leaving behind her two young sons. Courageous Gloria established a charitable foundation in her daughter's honour and completed two books that her daughter had started before her untimely death: an autobiography and a book detailing her battle with cancer.
"Losing a child takes you to the darkest spot you could ever imagine," Gloria told The Mirror in 2018. "There's something extra hard about getting pregnant, carrying that baby, giving birth, treasuring that child, and then losing her. You don't think all your children will end up with PHDs or anything, but you pray to God you'll live long enough to see them live happy lives.
"Never in a million years did I imagine that I would lose one. That's not supposed to be the order of life." Gloria has since stayed close to Caron's kids.
She said: "I was lucky enough to see them being born. That was a real privilege - I helped cut the cord. I say to them, 'Do you know, I have known you since.
..' and they finish the sentence with '.
..since the minute I was born'.
" Caron Keating's widower Russ Lindsay remained close to Gloria after her death, but when he re-married, she was not at the wedding. Also in the industry, showbiz manager Russ Lindsay married a former GMTV weathergirl Sally Meen in 2006, two years after his wife passed. Despite saying Russ was like a third son, Gloria decided to stay away amid concerns that it would prove too painful.
"Russ and I agreed some time ago that it would be better for him and me for me not to be there," she said at the time. "It seems like it was only five minutes since him and Caron were married. This way, it will be easier all round.
" She apparently gave the pair her blessing despite speculation that she was hurt and she apparently hosted a private dinner with Russ and Sally to celebrate their union. "We had our own family dinner to mark the occasion," she said. "But this is Russ's day.
It would be difficult for him [if I was there] while they were making speeches." Russ and Sallyare still married and have had two children of their own since. Gloria's grandson and Russ's son Charlie is set to get married in the same church Russ and Caron wed in this year.
Caron lost her father in 1997, when Gloria's ex-husband and father of her children, Don Keating died. At the time, a statement from Hunniford read: "During his career with the BBC, Don Keating was a distinguished TV director and was responsible for programmes like Scene Around Six during some of the most difficult times in Northern Ireland. He was never anything other than a true professional and a gentleman.
".
