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'She was so brave'
Davina McCall breaks down live on This Morning as she talks about the heartbreak of losing her sister
The presenter's sister lost her cancer battle in 2012
DAVINA McCall sobbed on This Morning as she relived the tragic death of her sister.
The presenter appeared on the ITV daytime show today to plug her new book, Lessons I've Learned, but when the conversation turned to her half-sister Caroline Brady, Davina broke down.
Caroline passed away aged 50 in 2012 - just weeks after being told she had lung cancer that had spread to her brain.
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Recalling the moment she lost her she said: “When she went, she went so peaceful.”
The former Big Brother presenter was in otherwise good spirits when Phil Schofield asked her about Caroline.
Davina explained how she thought her sister was inspiring and brave, and commended her for how she thoughtfully gave all her personal belongs away to loved ones before she died
The mum-of-three said: “I would see her pull it out of the bag for her friends when she was absolutely exhausted, to make them feel better.
“She (Caroline) wrapped up little gifts of her clothes and her jewellery before she died, and she didn’t have much, she was terrible with money, but everything she had she gave away before she died.”
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The 48-year-old star then took a moment to regain her composure, as she was visibly very upset.
Throughout Caroline’s last few weeks her younger sister kept a vigil at her bedside and let her followers know how brave she was.
At the time she Tweeted: “Sorry, I have sort of disappeared on family hols, sister still poorly so no tweeting but checking in every now and then. Thank u for asking x.”
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Davina and Caroline managed to build a special bond over the years despite living in different countries.
When the sisters were younger, Caroline was brought up in Paris with their mother Florence, while Davina lived in Britain with her grandparents.
They became close during Davina's visits to France and supported each other through their mum’s struggle with alcoholism.
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Before Caroline died, her last Twitter post was of her smiling while carrying a large bunch of flowers from her TV star sister.
And she poignantly showed how close they were as she dubbed Davina her “rock”.
She commented: “Wow, look at that monster! I feel like a film star. Thank u @ThisisDavina U rock & you're my rock xx.”
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After she got upset by talk of Caroline on This Morning, Phil lightened the mood by asking her if she fancied being the host of Bake Off, after Mel and Sue quit.
The famously healthy star replied: “Only if it was non- sugar bake off."
Davina also reflected her time as a heroin addict, another topic covered in the book.
She told Holly and Phil that she thought she got away with being an addict until a friend told her they all knew, she said: “I didn’t do all the of the things other junkies did, I wore make-up, I put on a front”
She then added: “But I didn’t get away with it.
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“My friend told me I was the talk of dinner parties, I thought I’d hidden it so well”
Former user Davina started taking drugs in her late teens, and admits that by her 20s she was hooked on the stuff.
She described heroin as her “drug of choice” which made her “forget everything”.
Davina once told The Guardian: "Heroin makes you forget everything, no problems, no worries, no anything."
She spiralled into the world of drink and drugs until family friend Eric Clapton persuaded her to seek help in her mid-20s.
After appearing on today's show she later took to Twitter to thank the hosts for helping her "keep it together", she wrote: "Thank you so so much @hollywills and @Schofe .... thank you for helping me keep it together x love u x #lessonsivelearned"
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