Amanda Holden pays tribute to her stillborn son on 13th anniversary of his death

01 February 2024 , 13:10

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Amanda Holden pays tribute to her stillborn son on 13th anniversary of his death

Amanda Holden lit up a candle as she paid tribute to her stillborn son Theo on the 13th anniversary of his death.

The Britain's Got Talent star, 52, shares daughters Lexi, 18, and Hollie, 12, with her husband Chris Hughes. Amanda was left devastated over a decade ago when her little boy died in the womb at 28 weeks old. She has been open about her heartbreaking journey over the years.

On February 1, Amanda took to her Instagram Stories to share a close-up photo of a candle she lit up in honour of her son Theo. She captioned the photo: "You would have become a teenager today #Theo." In 2011, Amanda was seven months pregnant when a scan showed that Theo's heart stopped beating.

Distraught and unable to endure giving birth, she and her husband Chris made the difficult decision to have a caesarean at West Middlesex University Hospital, where Amanda had ­undergone midwifery training for an ITV documentary called Out Of My Depth in 2009.

Amanda shared a touching tribute to her late son (instagram/@noholdenback)

The star shares two daughters with her husband Chris (Instagram./ @noholdenback)

She had remained close pals with three of the midwives – Jackie Nash, Pippa Nightingale and Natalie Carter – who rushed to be with her.

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In 2022, she told her Heart Radio show: "We lost our baby Theo at 28 weeks, and they very sensitively moved me into another room so I could deliver him without having to hear the lovely babies screaming on a normal ward," she said. "Often that's not thought about, it's little things like that."

Amanda added: "I just remember hearing this woman just screaming and screaming and then it was actually — it was me, I realised it was me that was screaming. It was the most surreal, out-of-body experience and I was actually calling my daughter's name because I was just terrified about what to tell Lexi at the time."

She added: "I held him in my arms and I said goodbye, basically. But I couldn't have done it without the incredible team around us. My husband was so strong and so amazing but they got him through it too."

Just a year after the tragic loss of her son, Amanda was left fighting for her life after she suffered a haemorrhage during the birth of her daughter Hollie. Amanda pulled through and so did Hollie, now 12.

*If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity). You can call them on 0808 164 3332 or email [email protected]

Zara Woodcock