‘Stressed’ Martin Lewis breaks down in tears over emotional viewer letter as he stops Good Morning Britain live on air
MARTIN Lewis broke down in tears after he read a heart-wrenching letter from a viewer on Good Morning Britain.
The financial journalist who offers savvy money advice said how he was deeply moved by a message after a “stressful few weeks”.
He had been contacted by an anonymous viewer who had read on his Money Saving Expert website that the law on widowed parents’ allowance was changed in May to allow claims from unmarried parents.
Deciding to adlib live on the show, Martin went off script and started talking about how the advice he had shared with viewers ended up having a huge impact on one in particular.
“I’ll be honest, I had some tears in my eyes last night – I’ve had a stressful couple of weeks and I got a lovely message…”
Susanna asked in a playful tone: “Are you the cost-of-living crisis hero in action?”
Martin replied: “No, no – this is something else. Someone says they regularly watch my show and [told me], “In 2015, I was sadly and suddenly widowed at the age of 38.
“I was unable to claim widowed parents allowance due to not actually being married to my long-term partner and received little help from the government to then bring up our three children.”
Martin’s voice started to break as he read the letter, clearly moved by the viewer’s story: “Today I received a letter from DWP. I have been awarded £34,000 in back dated money and that’s in my account already.
“I cannot explain what this means to me – I cried for an hour and just had to get in touch. My kids are grown up now and I am able to help them with their own struggles and housing.”
Martin urged other widowed parents: “If you know someone who has lost someone since 2001 and is a parent with young children, they may be able to claim something even if they weren’t married. It runs out in February next year.
“This wasn’t on the agenda to talk about this morning but I had to talk about it. Spread the word people!” he added.