THE mother of two young boys who were murdered by their father was invited to a live semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent by judge David Walliams.
Claire Throssell’s two sons Jack and Paul, 12 and nine, died in a house fire in Penistone in 2014. It was started by their father Darren Sykes.
David had seen Claire’s story and ‘wanted to make her smile.’
Claire, 46, of Penistone, said: “David was just lovely. He gave me big hug as soon as he met me and I told him what a difference he had made to children, he’s made it cool to read again.
“We talked and he said he just wanted to make me smile for a little bit.
Alesha Dixon remembered me from Clarence House when I went to meet Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and she was very nice.”
David became aware of Claire’s tragic experience after reading a column she had written in The Guardian.
She said: “It was a very raw piece about the little things which I missed about the boys. I had written that I used to read David Walliams’s books to Jack and carried that on, and (after the fire) his heart monitors would settle down at the sound of my voice.
“He was only sedated, not in a coma, so he could hear every word. Those last five days, it gave us some comfort because we had a little part of our old life in hospital.”
