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‘I’ve got a quarter of my mother in me!’: Dame Kelly Holmes reveals she accidentally ate her mother’s ashes when she scattered them on a windy day
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Dame Kelly Holmes has revealed that she accidentally ate her late mother’s ashes when she scattered them on a windy day.
The elite sportswoman, 52, shared the story on Tuesday’s episode of Loose Women, while admitting she could look back at the moment and laugh.
Dame Kelly reflected on her own experience of grief as the nation mourned Queen Elizabeth II, who was buried Monday.
Shocking: Dame Kelly Holmes has revealed she accidentally ate her late mother’s ashes when she scattered them on a windy day
Dame Kelly’s mother Pam Norman died in 2017 of myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
The former middle distance runner recalled: ‘My mother wanted to be cremated and if she wasn’t she would come back to haunt us!
“There were four important places in the country she wanted to go to, but it was just too late. So we decided to go to these four places and scatter the ashes.
“Anyway, the first time we did it, my whole family, I have a big family, all came in and got handfuls [of the ashes] because I put it in a box because we were in a public place, and I don’t think you can always do it in a public place, do you?
“So I had this box, covered with one of my cousin’s jackets, and they all came to get a handful and we sprinkled it like a shake ’em bag!”
Tragic loss: Former middle distance runner’s mother, Pam Norman, died in 2017 of myeloma, a blood cancer (pictured together in 2005)
While Dame Kelly had no problem scattering her mother’s ashes the first time, disaster struck on the second, third and fourth outings.
She continued: ‘When we went to the New Forest and to the Isle of Wight and to the Cotswalds, it was blowing every time.
“So we’d stand in a long line, we’d throw them…and I’ve got a quarter of my mother in me!”
Oops: Dame Kelly revealed, ‘So we’d be in a long line, we’d throw them…and I’ve got a quarter of my mom in me!’
As Loose Women’s panelists looked shocked, Dame Kelly explained, “With the ashes! I swear!
“Because every time, every time we did it, of course, we’re sad, but every time we went one two three,” before imitating throwing a handful of ash which then blew it back in her face.
Dame Kelly, who won gold in the 800m and 1500m at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said she was very close to her mother, who raised her on a municipal estate in Kent, and took a long time to accept that she was gone. .
The athlete’s father, an auto mechanic, ran off when she was just one year old, leaving a young Pam to raise her alone.
But that wasn’t without problems and, fearing there was too much to handle, Pam’s parents encouraged her to adopt Kelly.
The athlete spent some time in orphanages and beyond, but all along, Pam was determined not to give up on her daughter.
Dame Kelly previously said of her mother’s death: ‘It was the worst day of my life. She was only 17 years older than me, so we were very close.
“It was horrible, I died a long time ago. It took a lot of time and talking to people so my friends knew I needed them.
“Every day I long to be able to tell my mother what I’ve done. We spoke every day.’
Unexpectedly: Dame Kelly shocked panelists Charlene White, Coleen Nolan and Katie Piper with her confession