Lorraine Kelly has been deeply saddened by the passing of a young colleague from ITV. The television world is in mourning following the loss of their beloved friend and co-worker, Hannah Hawkins, aged 33, who lost her battle with breast cancer.
This heartbreaking news comes just months after Hannah, a producer on Lorraine's morning show, learned that her cancer had returned. Hannah, a mother of one, had recently given birth to her baby son, Rory, with her loving husband, Tom.
Lorraine, aged 63, paid tribute to her dear friend at the beginning of her show, sharing the devastating news on Instagram. She said, "We've received some very sad news about a much-loved member of our team. Our producer, Hannah Hawkins, passed away just before the weekend, after discovering her cancer had returned only a few months ago, shortly after she gave birth to her beautiful boy, Rory. She was amazing at raising awareness and funds for breast cancer. Too young, too soon. It's really difficult for all of us."
Hannah passed away just hours before her husband and partner of 13 years, Tom, celebrated his birthday. Tom expressed his feelings on social media, praising his "remarkable" wife.
He wrote, "There is no way I can pay tribute to or sum you up in one post. I could write an essay on how unfair this is—that you'll miss seeing Rory grow up, that he won't get to feel his mum's love, and that this terrible illness took hold so quickly. But that's not how you saw it. The remarkable person that you were, the phrase you used so many times over the last few weeks—and it set me off every time; 'I'm so at peace with the life I've lived' is something we can all admire."
"The fact that right until the end, you were putting others' feelings first and making us all laugh was just you to a tee. Your life can be defined simply by love, friendship, and strength, and I'll make sure these are cornerstones of Rory's life."
"I want him to know how much everyone loved his mum and how much love you gave. How you would say to me in any of my dark moments, 'remember you are so loved.' I want him to know that you were someone who could walk into a room of strangers and come out having made friends for life, and that our social calendar was always so full we physically couldn't fit in everyone we wanted to see."
"I also want him to know the bravery you showed every day, facing anything life threw at you with the strength of a warrior, a smile on your face, and laughter in your eyes. This is the legacy you leave for our little boy, this and so much more."
