Dame Helen Mirren previously opened up about the tragic loss of her stepson, who died aged just 51.
The Oscar-winning actress – who is on The Repair Shop Christmas special today (December 26) – does not have children of her own. However, when she married Taylor Hackford in 1997, she became stepmother to his two children.
Unfortunately, in 2022, one of her stepkids Rio Hackford sadly passed away from a rare form of cancer. And, a few months ago, Helen reflected on his death, revealing that she still ‘looks at his face all the time, every day’.
Dame Helen Mirren on stepson’s death
Rio Hackford died in 2022 of uveal melanoma, “a very aggressive and rare form” of eye cancer. The actor was known for his work in films such as Jonah Hex and Fred Claus. He recently appeared in the Hulu series Pam & Tommy.
Talking to People in August, Helen spoke about her stepson’s death. She revealed: “I have his picture on my phone as my screensaver, so I look at his face all the time, every day.
“Rio died of ocular melanoma (also known as eye cancer), we didn’t know about that condition, and it was only through that awful experience that we learned that this is a melanoma that can grow at the back of your eye without you having any consciousness of it.”
Helen admitted ‘it’s a death sentence’
The acting legend went on to share that she is convinced Rio would still be alive today, if he had her son undergone more eye examinations on a regular basis.
She shared: “Rio hadn’t had his eyes checked for 10 years because his eyesight didn’t change. So he thought, why do I need my eyes checked if my eyesight’s perfectly fine?
“If he’d had his eyes checked they would have caught it early. It’s a rare thing, but it happens and it’s a death sentence.”
The NHS says that fewer than 1,000 (850) cases of eye cancer (ocular cancer) are diagnosed in the UK each year. It has said: “There are a number of different types of cancer that affect the eyes, including: eye melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma and retinoblastoma – a childhood cancer.”
Watch Helen on The Repair Shop Christmas special on Friday (December 26) at 7:30pm on BBC One.
Read more: The Repair Shop fans left ‘crying’ over miraculous fix for profoundly deaf photographer
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