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Rob Delaney gives powerful speech on Radio 4 about not fearing dying following death of son Henry

Comedian’s two-year-old son died in January 2018

Isobel Lewis
Wednesday 09 December 2020 10:38 GMT
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Rob Delaney talks about son's death in emotional Radio 4 segment

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Rob Delaney has shared a touching speech about why he is no longer afraid of dying following the death of his son Henry.

Delaney’s two-year-old son with his wife Leah died in January 2018 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, with the comedian using his experience to campaign for the NHS in the years since.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as part of the “Moments of Light” series for Grief Awareness Week, the Catastrophe star explained that he was initially “angry” when he heard about the segment.

“How dare they?” he asked. “A historic pandemic and its mismanagement by the government is killing people by the thousands and Radio 4 programmers want to distract people with some mid-tier celebrities’ musings on lemon curd or parakeets?

“I got so angry I needed a moment of light myself, so I began to think about my own death… Like many people, I used to be afraid of dying. But a little less than three years ago, our then youngest son Henry died of a brain tumour. It so happens he died on the morning of my 41st birthday. Thus, that date’s significance has been exchanged for something far larger and more powerful.”

Delaney continued: “I don’t know where Henry went or what happened to him when he died. Do you? But I know I get to find out when I die. At the very least, I’ll get to experience something Henry experienced. And that’s wonderful. That knowledge brings me peace.”

Speaking about his three other sons, the comedian described how Henry’s death didn’t make him love them more, but rather “love them better”.

“When I hold them now, I know what they really are,” Delaney commented. “They’re temporary gatherings of stardust, just like Henry. They won’t be here forever. They’re here now, and it is my staggering privilege to get to hold them and smell them and stare at them.”

The piece concluded: “I’m here now, but one day I’ll be wherever Henry is. I’ll have to die to get there, but that’s okay with me.”

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