John Stapleton says he still has some ‘really bad moments’ following his wife’s death

John Stapleton has told how he still has some ‘really bad moments’ following his wife’s death – and sometimes wakes up and ‘thinks she’s here.’ 

The 74-year-old broadcaster’s wife Lynn Faulds Wood, 72, who had Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS), died in April following a ‘massive stroke’ at their home at St Margarets in south west London.

‘I still have some really bad moments. I wake up and think she’s here, and the pain on realising she’s gone… it’s very difficult to live with that,’ said John, speaking to The Telegraph. ‘I think what I miss most is not having someone to do nothing with.’   

The presenter was best known for fronting the BBC consumer show Watchdog alongside Stapleton from 1985 to 1993.

John Stapleton, 74, has told how he still has some 'really bad moments' following his wife's death - and sometimes wakes up and 'thinks she's still here.' Pictured, Lynn and the broadcaster at the Variety Club Showbiz Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on 15 November 2009

John Stapleton, 74, has told how he still has some ‘really bad moments’ following his wife’s death – and sometimes wakes up and ‘thinks she’s still here.’ Pictured, Lynn and the broadcaster at the Variety Club Showbiz Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on 15 November 2009

Lynn died in April following a 'massive stroke' at their home at St Margarets in south west London. Pictured, with John in 1996

Lynn died in April following a ‘massive stroke’ at their home at St Margarets in south west London. Pictured, with John in 1996

John Stapleton, one of the presenters of the BBC's "Nationwide" programme with his bride, 29 year old journalist Lynn Faulds Wood, after their wedding at Richmond Register Office

John Stapleton, one of the presenters of the BBC’s ‘Nationwide’ programme with his bride, 29 year old journalist Lynn Faulds Wood, after their wedding at Richmond Register Office

John, who had been married to Lynn for 43 years, went on to say that he received 70,000 tweets and over 400 letters of condolence following his wife’s death.

‘But I could only hug Nick and Lise,’ he said. ‘We got special permission from my doctor for them to come and live with me for a few weeks, and they helped me with everything, especially the bureaucratic nightmare after a death.’

‘I simply cannot believe how hard that was, and I wouldn’t have got through it without them.’

He added that many of the bereavement organisations were shut which made matters even worse – adding he’d struggle to sleep worrying about it.  

Presenters John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds Wood in the gym 'The Time The Place' TV Programme in 1992

Presenters John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds Wood in the gym ‘The Time The Place’ TV Programme in 1992

Portrait of television presenters Lynn Faulds Wood and John Stapleton, photographed for Radio Times in connection with the BBC show 'Watchdog', November 1986

Portrait of television presenters Lynn Faulds Wood and John Stapleton, photographed for Radio Times in connection with the BBC show ‘Watchdog’, November 1986

Six months since Lynne’s death, and John says he’s still not ready to sort out her belongings.

What is antiphospholipid syndrome?

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), sometimes known as Hughes syndrome, is a disorder of the immune system that causes an increased risk of blood clots.

This means people with APS are at greater risk of developing conditions such as: deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that usually develops in the leg arterial thrombosis (a clot in an artery), which can cause a stroke or heart attack blood clots in the brain, leading to problems with balance, mobility, vision, speech and memory 

Source: NHS.co.uk 

‘I’ll clear Lynn’s things later when I’m ready, and her sisters will help me,’ he told the publication. 

‘You have to forge your own path through grief, and I also realised I can’t do Christmas here, as Lynn was at the centre of that, so Nick has booked a house for us in Hampshire and even organised someone to do Christmas dinner – if lockdown allows.’

John and his son Nick previously appeared on Lorraine, where they called Lynne a ‘pioneer who saved lives’ due to her work raising awareness about bowel cancer and said she was ‘smiling until the end.’

The journalist and Nick said Lynn had been living with ASP, an autoimmune disease for four years and recalled what had happened when she was taken ill.

John said: ‘We came back in from clapping the NHS, she was as enthusiastic as ever, we came back watched a movie, she tried to get up and collapsed at the sofa. 

‘So I phoned an ambulance, she was taken to Charing Cross hospital and died the following day at midday with Nick and Lisa there.’ [John was unable to go due to Covid: 19.] 

John continued: ‘One of the main reasons [we’ve come on here] is to make people aware of APS, it’s an autoimmune disease that can cause blood clots, and DVT and heart attacks and strokes.

‘It is thought to be genetic and it can be a real factor in miscarriages, as well as stillbirths, but if you are in any doubt, Google it or speak to people like Dr Hilary.

Nick added: ‘There are a number of symptoms which overlap with other things so it’s difficult to know if you have it unless you have all those complex symptoms all together.

Special lady: Lynn pictured meeting and speaking with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, during a reception for Women in Journalism at The Ned in London back in February 2018

Special lady: Lynn pictured meeting and speaking with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, during a reception for Women in Journalism at The Ned in London back in February 2018

‘Mum lived for four years with this condition on quite a lot of medication and it’s possible to live a long life but the medication does have side effects.

She was an amazing mum to me and an amazing mentor to a lot of people who tried to follow the same path as her in investigative journalism.

‘I’ve had lots of messages from people wanting to thank mum for getting them into that line of work.

‘I’m really proud she was able to that and incredible proud of her as a mum to me, she was a fantastic person.’

The presenter did a lot of campaigning to raise awareness about bowel cancer.

John said: ‘When Lynne started campaigning there are people in their business, there were some who couldn’t even say the word cancer, they said they came back from a long illness.

‘She went onto talk about poo and bottoms and even got Prince Charles to talk about it. I remember her on GMTV talking about symptoms and we got 27,000 enquiries after that. She was quite a pioneer and she saved lives.’ 

From growing up in a quaint Scottish village to becoming a consumer champion, how presenter and campaigning journalist Lynn Faulds Wood rose to fame 

From growing up in a quaint Scottish village to becoming a consumer champion, how presenter and campaigning journalist Lynn Faulds Wood rose to fame

Born in Glasgow and brought up in a quaint Scottish village near Loch Lomond, Lynn Faulds Wood started out in her early career in magazines and newspapers.

Her first job in the media was at English weekly magazine Woman before she later moved in to a role at the Daily Mail from 1979 to 1980.

Afterwards she took up a role at The Sun where 100,000 readers joined her campaign to close the live animal market Club Row.

Thousands of readers marched on Downing Street following her work and the market was eventually closed.

Following on from her success at the two national papers she joined Breakfast television, presenting the BBC’s Breakfast Time from 1984 to 1986.

The presenter hosted Watchdog alongside John Stapleton – to whom she was married – from 1985 to 1993.

She survived bowel cancer while working for the programme and went on to call for better awareness of the illness.

Faulds Wood presented programmes about cancer including Doctor Knows Best and Bobby Moore & Me.

Her investigation into bowel cancer, ‘Bobby Moore & Me’, got 6.5 million viewers and 28,000 letters

She also helped to create the world’s first evidence-based guide to symptoms of her cancer, officially adopted by the Department of Health in 2000

As part of her campaigning, Faulds Wood co-founded the European Cancer Patient Coalition in 2002 which she chaired 2003-2010. She helped to set up MEPs Against Cancer and is credited with helping to get cancer on the official European Agenda

Faulds Wood also presented the investigative programme World In Action during the 1990s, before going on to become a consumer champion on GMTV between 2003 and 2009.

In 2006 she worked with Dame Esther Rantzen to present BBC consumer rights programme Old Dogs, New Tricks.

In 2010, she said that she was considering entering politics by standing for the Parliament of the United Kingdom at the general election.

Instead she remained as a health campaigner, still regularly appearing on television talking about cancer and consumer matters

In 2016 Faulds Wood rejected an MBE, saying the honours system needs to be dragged ‘into the 21st Century’.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk