Good Morning Britain’s Ed Balls and Susanna Reid were visibly moved during an emotional segment on Monday’s show, where they spoke with the heartbroken parents of the children who lost their lives in last year’s horrific Southport attack. The devastating event took place on July 29 at The Hart Space, where a Taylor Swift-themed dance class turned tragic as Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed by Axel Rudakubana. In a poignant first-time TV interview aired on February 10, Susanna talked to Bebe and Elsie’s parents, leading to a tearful moment as the interview concluded. Overcome with emotion, Ed found himself unable to speak, prompting Susanna to reflect: “They’re remarkable, aren’t they?” With Ed too choked up to respond, Susanna turned to the audience, thanking Bebe’s parents for their courage in sharing their story and underscoring the vital points they raised during the discussion. The grieving couple voiced their unease about the public broadcast of the sentencing and demanded answers from the public inquiry, hoping that Bebe’s memory will serve to safeguard other children.
Bebe King’s parents spoke to Good Morning Britain about her devastating death
(Image: PA)
Elsie Dot Stancombe was murdered last summer during the Southport attack
(Image: PA)
Describing the harrowing final moments with Bebe, her parents, who could not be named for legal reasons, recounted: “She was in her pyjamas, we read to her, the family visited her, and the final day we lay next to her. We did our final goodbye.” Bebe was remembered as a beacon of strength, kindness, and joy, which left Susanna Reid visibly moved on Good Morning Britain. “She was so mighty, but so strong and so kind at the same time,” they recalled, reports the Mirror. “She was a beautiful, funny, crazy, gorgeous girl, and her legacy, it can’t be defined by what’s happened, I feel like a lioness and I’ve got to protect my child, she was pure light, she was pure joy.” They continued, “In spirit she can still have an impression on the world, she can help just the future, protecting children, and I believe she is going to move mountains regardless.”
Elsie Stancombe’s parents said they will “never feel true happiness again”
(Image: GMB)
Susanna then spoke with Elsie’s heartbroken parents, Jenni and David, who confessed that they often feel they’ll “never feel true happiness again, ever”. They shared, “We feel like it’s out duty as her mum and dad to continue writing Elsie’s story for her. So many times we’ve said, ‘We’ll never feel true happiness again, ever’. We might just feel a little something else when we make another little girl smile, for Elsie.” In an emotional moment, Jenni disclosed that they were invited to meet Taylor Swift at Wembley, adding, “If Elsie knew that Taylor knew her, [it’d be like] all her dreams had come true.” The tragic case concluded with Rudakubana, 18, being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders and the attempted murders of eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, with a minimum term of 52 years.
