This Morning presenter Sian Welby has opened up about the heartbreaking loss of friend and Capital Breakfast producer Joe Lyons.
Joe died by suicide five years ago, and Sian and fellow Capital Breakfast show hosts Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay were called off air to be told the tragic news. After they got the news, the three presenters left the studio mid-show and stand-in presenters took their place for the whole week.
Sian has not publicly spoken about the impact of Joe’s death until now, where she revealed she “never really processed” the tragedy.
Sian Welby on death of friend
Speaking on the LuLu podcast, Sian, who recently welcomed her first child, opened up about Joe’s death, admitting that none of them had any idea he was struggling.
She said: “You just can’t imagine it. Everyone has a moment in their life where they have that fear when someone hasn’t come home. You try not to go to the worst-case scenario because you think it will be fine.
“For us, it was why hadn’t Joe come to work – he was always the first one in.”
Sian Welby went on to say: “None of us knew. And you would never know. I have lost other friends the same way, and they are always the life and soul – lovely, fun characters.”
As for what Joe was like behind-the-scenes, Sian confessed that he was someone everyone just got on with immediately.
“Everyone loved him. All the celebrities loved him. He would come in and look after all the guests. Everyone knew Joe. Everyone adored him.”
Sian ‘still hasn’t’ processed Joe’s death
In the months after Joe died, Sian found comfort in talking about her grief with her close friends who worked on Capital Breakfast with her. But she admitted that five years on, she still struggles to accept that it really happened.
She said: “I spoke to friends about it. We all had this shared trauma as a team that we sort of all felt we could talk about. We could talk together and get through it – but maybe I just never really processed it.
“I can’t believe it’s real. And it was so shocking – it came out of nowhere – I think a lot of us haven’t really processed it.”
While Sian Welby confirmed she is still grieving the loss of Joe, she explained that she has never been to therapy – but that her mum and sister are “very good listeners”.
Sian’s former co-worker Roman Kemp fronted a BBC documentary called Our Silent Emergency in 2021 which focussed on male suicide and mental health, following Joe’s passing.
Read more: This Morning star Sian Welby ‘feared’ she would be dropped by show following pregnancy announcement
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