TV presenter Susanna Reid has admitted that watching the documentary she made about murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne left her with a broken heart.
Shortly after the programme concluded last night (July 4), the Good Morning Britain host, 48, said it had been an “honour” to make and thanked Sarah’s mum and family for being “so open” about their horrific experience.
Thank you to @DrSaraPayneMBE and her family for sharing so openly their experiences. Sarah died that day, but all of them suffered. RIP to Sarah – and Michael who never recovered. Making a programme like this was an honour. Watching it broke my heart. #SarahPayne
— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) July 4, 2019
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Taking to Twitter, Susanna wrote: “Thank you to @DrSaraPayneMBE and her family for sharing so openly their experiences. Sarah died that day, but all of them suffered.
She added, referencing Sarah’s dad Michael who died aged 45 in 2014 after years of battling alcoholism: “RIP to Sarah – and Michael who never recovered. Making a programme like this was an honour. Watching it broke my heart. #SarahPayne.”
Sara retweeted Susanna’s tweet and wrote a message for her own followers, thanking them for watching the documentary and caring about her daughter.
She tweeted: “Good morning, my family and I send our love to you all, we know what it took for you to do this for us, we thank you for watching, for caring, for your brave. Thank you, Sarah’s Family x.”
Good morning, my family and I send our love to you all, we know what it took for you to do this for us, we thank you for watching, for caring, for your brave. Thank you, Sarah's Family x
— Dr Sara Payne MBE (@DrSaraPayneMBE) July 5, 2019
The documentary, Sarah Payne: The Untold Story, saw mum Sara make an emotional ‘final visit’ to the place where her daughter was abducted and murdered 19 years ago in a bid to ‘exorcise ghosts’.
The abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah from a field near her grandparents’ home in Sussex in July 2000 shocked the nation.
It was revealed that Roy Whiting, a convicted paedophile who committed a similar crime previously, was responsible.
After her daughter was tragically taken from her, Sara campaigned tirelessly to change the law so that concerned parents could access the sex offender register.
Last night’s documentary, which Susanna hosted, included interviews with friends and family to shed new light on the day Sarah was abducted and reveal how Sara and her children Lee, Luke and Charlotte – then aged 13, 12 and six respectively – coped with the trauma.
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In emotional scenes Sara, who said it would be the last time she will ever visit the beach, explained: “If I close my eyes I can see her and I can hear her and see her running around just shouting.
“The last thing I remember is Sarah just waving and she was like ‘go, go, go… we’ll see you at home’.”
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