Actor Jason Watkins and wife Clara Francis tragically lost their two-year-old daughter Maude to sepsis back in 2011.
Perhaps even more tragically, Maude’s body was found by her big sister Bessie, who was aged four at the time.
Unable to wake Maude on New Year’s Day, Bessie wandered into her parents’ bedroom to wake them and let them know. Actor Jason – in the final episode of Channel 5’s The Game tonight (May 15) – said he instinctively knew that something wasn’t right.
Hours earlier, the couple had taken their youngest to hospital. There, they were told that Maude had croup, a common childhood illness. However, when he saw Maude, Jason said he knew she’d passed away.
Jason, 62, and Clara were left devastated by the loss, as was their daughter Bessie. They credit the arrival of baby Gilbert in 2012 with saving them.
But how did Bessie, who turns 18 this month, cope following the loss of her sister? Jason and Clara have been open about her struggles with grief…
Jason Watkins on why daughter Bessie didn’t appear in Maudie documentary
In March 2023, Jason and Clara fronted a documentary, In Memory of Maudie, about their late daughter. The raw, emotional watch featured interviews with the couple and their son Gilbert. Bessie, however, didn’t appear.
In the end it was just too difficult for her.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Clara explained that “it must be hard” for Bessie growing up in the shadow of “Saint Maude… forever preserved as this gorgeous thing”.
Bessie did initially agree to appear in the documentary, but later changed her mind.
Jason explained: “She did a really moving interview, but then she watched it and she felt very exposed. In the end it was just too difficult for her.”
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‘I didn’t want Bessie to be alone’
Speaking to the Guardian, Clara said the day Maude died she knew she “had to have another child” for Bessie’s sake.
“It was primal. I didn’t want our older daughter, Bessie, to be alone,” she explained.
In the months after Maude died, Clara said she worried about the impact the loss would have on Bessie. She explained that her eldest daughter would see her mum crying and say: “You’ve still got me. Aren’t I enough?” And that, Clara said, would trigger guilt. “Losing a child affects everything, every relationship you have.”
Nowadays, Clara said she doesn’t sweat the small stuff when it comes to Bessie’s education. “I don’t care about how well Bessie does. I’m not going to drive her nuts saying: ‘Do your homework.’ All I care about is, is she happy?” she said.
‘Your sister is not coming back’
Jason also shared his concerns for Bessie on ITV’s Britain Get Talking podcast in 2020.
Speaking about Bessie’s grief, he explained: “That was the most difficult thing. Explaining to her what had happened. I think she knew because she was there, that was the shocking thing, the traumatic thing for her.”
He added: “Telling a child: ‘Your sister is not coming back,’ is difficult. You can use euphemisms of heaven and those sort of things. Whatever helps for you is the way to do it. You have to say that she’s not coming back, that’s the difficult part.”
Speaking about Bessie now, he added: “Even now, Bessie’s a teenager. And she exhibits typical teenage behaviour. Difficulties and emotional ups and downs. But coupled with that one is always thinking, is this born out of something else? It’s a very difficult place to be that.”
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Son Gilbert ‘saved’ Jason Watkins and wife Clara
Son Gilbert arrived the year after Maude died. And the family say that he “saved them”.
Speaking to the Guardian about falling pregnant, Clara explained: “Of course what I really wanted was to have Maude back. So when we found out we were having a boy, I was devastated. I’m ashamed of that now, but it’s true.”
However, she admitted: “Having a boy turned out to be brilliant, the best way things could have worked out. But he’s here because Maude isn’t, and that’s a weird legacy for him.”
Gilbert appeared in the In Memory of Maudie documentary.
Speaking in the film, Jason said: “Soon after Maude died, we had an overwhelming need to have another child, and thankfully, we were blessed to have Gilbert. He always chirps up and asks: ‘Am I Maude’s substitute? Am I a replacement for Maude?’
“He’s not stupid. I say: ‘Of course you’re not, you’re your own person thank god – you saved us.”
Jason added: “He is a bit of a saviour in that respect because he came along. And for Bessie, she also saved us – she was just so strong. She was there and suddenly her sister wasn’t there.”
Read more: Heartbreaking moment Jason Watkins knew his toddler daughter had died
The Game concludes tonight (May 15) on Channel 5 at 9pm.
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