This Morning viewers were in tears this morning when a Ugandan orphan paid a touching tribute to the show’s beloved, late agony aunt, Denise Robertson.
Denise was a fan favourite but sadly passed away in 2016 aged 83.
But she was remembered today from the most unlikely of people, which caused viewers to get emotional.
Fred appeared on This Morning to pay tribute to Denise
Ugandan orphan Fred Ssemmanda broke down in tears on today’s This Morning (Friday August 20) when he explained how Denise helped him.
Kind Denise met Fred and his brother Emmanuel after their parents died from HIV, and was moved by their plight.
Read more: This Morning: Eamonn Holmes sparks Ofcom complaints over Dr Zoe Williams comment
Thanks to her fundraising efforts, he was able to go to school and university.
And now he revealed to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford that he has now named his baby son Dennis Robertson Ssemmanda, in honour of Denise.
They also asked him what his wife Sandra knows about Denise, and he replied: “I was like, ‘Wow, Denise is my guardian angel who started taking care of me from childhood with my brother.'”
https://twitter.com/thesensualworld/status/1428644747443417094
https://twitter.com/The_GLL_house/status/1428644766770778112
Bless Fred.
What a lovely man & tribute. 😥 #thismorning— 🎵🄶🄰🅉🎬 (@Gm4nHere) August 20, 2021
Oh Fred. Bless him getting upset over Denise #ThisMorning. What a lady.
— Paul (@PGUK78) August 20, 2021
Viewers were emotional at Fred’s tribute to Denise, too
As Fred wiped away the tears as he spoke about Denise, so did viewers who took to Twitter to express their emotion at the interview.
One wrote: “Oh Fred. Bless him getting upset over Denise #ThisMorning. What a lady.”
Another said: “#ThisMorning OMG #Fred has me in tears. [red heart and cry face emoji].
“#DeniseRobertson Wonderful sharing of love and legacy.”
A third commented: “What a beautiful way to start to the day.
“So much love for Denise and Fred and baby Dennis… just beautiful.”
Denise Roberton, the nation’s agony aunt
As Fred recounted his story we all thought about Denise.
She first joined the show after a stint on BBC Breakfast Time, and was there on This Morning right from the very start in 1988.
Read more: Phillip Schofield’s tribute to Denise Robertson is breathtakingly beautiful
After an absence from the show in early 2016, she returned in February to reveal she was suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Denise – who was awarded an MBE in 2006 for services to charity – died on March 31 2016, aged 83.
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