Broadcaster John Stapleton and his son Nick appeared on Lorraine on Thursday to pay tribute to wife and mother, Lynn Faulds Wood.
The Watchdog host, 72, died last month following a ‘massive stroke’ at their home at St Margarets in south west London due to having Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS).
John, 74, and Nick called her a ‘pioneer who saved lives’ due to her work raising awareness about bowel cancer and said she was ‘smiling until the end.’
Sad: John Stapleton paid tribute to his ‘amazing pioneer’ wife Lynn Faulds Wood, 72, on Lorraine on Thursday following her death with son Nick and said she was ‘smiling until the end’
Journalist John 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.]
RIP: John and Nick spoke of raising awareness of antiphospholipid syndrome, an autoimmune disease Lynn died from and was living with for four years (pictured with John in 2011)
John continued: ‘One of the main reasons 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.
Lorraine said: ‘I remember my first day I was terrified and the first person I chatted to was Lynn and I think I would have run out the door if I hadn’t’ (stock image)
‘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 was best known for fronting the BBC consumer show Watchdog alongside Stapleton from 1985 to 1993.
She 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.’
Lorriane showed a montage of people whose lives she had saved after getting checked because she spoke about bowel cancer.
Family: Lynn with her husband John Stapleton and their son Nicholas. The former TV host presented Watchdog alongside her husband from 1985 to 1993
Lorraine said: ‘I remember my first day I was terrified and the first person I chatted to was Lynn and I think I would have run out the door if I hadn’t.’
John said of Lynn’s work with raising awareness about cancer: ‘She was still doing it right to the end, anyone with any kind of cancer would call and she would talk to them all.
‘She would always try and find some ray of hope – she was a supremely optimistic person.
‘She was an extremely optimistic person and when she was rushed into hospital, apparently she was thanking the nurses for helping her and giving them a thumbs up sign they couldn’t believe it.’
John said his son has been helping him to navigate his way through this extremely difficult time.
He said: ‘I’m being comforted greatly by the presence of Nick and his wife Lisa who have moved in with me, to help me emotionally and practically.
‘You have to do this horrible admin. I wouldn’t have got through the last week without them.’
John said of the funeral: ‘We had a lady celebrant, Lynn’s not religious, it was at alocal crematorium, she did a wonderful speech.
Nick played a blinder I managed to hold on just about to the end during my speech. We had 10 people and when we can all get together, we’ll have one hell of a day to celebrate Lynn’s life.’
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
Dr Hilary Jones concluded by adding that there is an NHS screening programme for bowel cancer partially because of Lynn.
John said last month: ‘Huge thank you to the hundreds and hundreds of people who have paid tribute to Lynn.
‘A wonderful mother to Nick, a loving and hugely supportive wife to me and a campaigning journalist on so many fronts who really made a difference to the world we live in. We’ll miss her always.’
In 1991, at the age of 40, Lynn found out she had stage three bowel cancer while working on the show. She eventually recovered and went on to call for better awareness of the illness.
Lynn was also notable for rejecting an MBE in 2016 saying the honours system needs to be dragged ‘into the 21st Century’.
Kindness: John paid tribute to his ‘loving and hugely supportive wife’ on Twitter last month
The consumer champion, who was born in Glasgow and grew up near Loch Lomondside, began her career working for newspapers including the Daily Mail and The Sun.
Afterwards she moved into breakfast television, and after her stint at Watchdog presented programmes about cancer including Doctor Knows Best and Bobby Moore & Me.
She 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.
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.
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
Presenters John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds Wood in the gym ‘The Time The Place’ TV Programme in 1992
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
Portrait of television presenters Lynn Faulds Wood and John Stapleton, photographed for Radio Times in connection with the BBC show ‘Watchdog’, November 1986
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’.