This Morning: Emotional Bradley Walsh hears ‘heartbreaking’ story of care home residents separated from families

‘I apologise, it’s so upsetting and I had no idea this was going on,’ Walsh said

Bradley Walsh came close to tears during an emotional discussion about care homes during the coronavirus pandemic on This Morning.

The Chase host appeared on the daily ITV talk show on Thursday (8 October), to discuss the effect that Covid-19 is having on people who live in care homes.

Along with hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, Walsh heard the story of Ruth, who’s son Sam has Huntington’s disease and may die before she is allowed to visit again.

“I've just seen that, I've never met Ruth and Sam but that's heartbreaking,” an emotional Walsh said. “[The] government got battered at the start because that happened then, but this is now.”

He continued: “In Ruth's case specifically, seven months [of] having daily contact with Sam, then all of a sudden now, none, zero. And he's in the later stages of Huntington’s and it’s so sad.”

Tearing up in response to the story, Walsh attempted to calm himself and continued: "I mean, if it was… It’s hard enough to see your... sorry.

“It’s hard enough to see your parents go but if your child is going to go before you, something needs to be done,” a visibly emotional Walsh continued. “I apologise, it’s so upsetting and I had no idea this was going on.”

As the number of coronavirus cases in the UK have risen again, many care homes across the country have stopped outside visitors from entering the facilities.

Earlier this week, an Amnesty International report found that the human rights of older people had been violated in England’s care homes because of a series of “shockingly irresponsible” government decisions in response to the pandemic, with thousands of older people effectively being “abandoned to die”.