Jason Watkins has opened up about his uncertainty about taking on the role of a man who lost his son, 12 years after his own daughter passed away.
The 60-year-old actor sadly lost his daughter Maude in 2011 after she developed a respiratory infection and later sepsis. She was two years old.
But Jason has since gone on to star in the new Channel 5 series The Catch, where he plays a fisherman struggling with the death of his son in an accident several years earlier.
Speaking about his hesitance in taking on the role, Jason told him The times: ‘When I first read the script I thought, ‘My God, can I do that?’
He added: ‘I decided that if I really took care of myself, I could go there. But I needed to be careful because it’s obviously a difficult place to take advantage of.
Candid: Jason Watkins has opened up about his uncertainty about taking on the role of a man who lost his son, 12 years after his own daughter passed away.
The actor has previously been very open about his journey with grief.
And speaking of the particular importance of men opening up, she said: ‘It’s really important for men.
“In my experience, they will most likely walk away and try to deal with the grief on their own.
‘They struggle with the language of pain, so it’s important that I step up. If I can help, I will.
“We’re not ‘everything happens for a reason’ people,” Jason added in his interview.
“I don’t agree with that Forrest Gump attitude: life is a box of chocolates and you don’t know what you’re going to get. I felt that we had been cheated and harassed by fate.
“It was a terrible random act, and that made us decide to have another baby.”
Last month, the actor appeared in BBC‘s The One Show to discuss his role on the show.
Tragic: The actor, 60, sadly lost his daughter Maude in 2011 after she developed a respiratory infection and later sepsis she was two years old
Jason, who lost Maude on New Year’s Day in 2011, said he thought the show would be a good way to “express” his grief and hopefully help others.
He said: ‘I always wanted to, and my wife Clara, we lost our daughter Maude to sepsis in 2011. We’re part of bereavement charities, but you always want to express yourself if you’re an artist of the things that really matter.
“There came this script about a normal guy who had lost a son and how it traumatized and affected him and how he tried to deal with it.”
Interview: Jason spoke about the death of his daughter Maude and how it linked to his role in the new Channel 5 series The Catch
Jason said there were some scenes he found “very difficult” to film, but he considers himself lucky to have been able to tell such a story.
He said: “Maybe it’s a man thing, that men might try to cope: ‘I’m not going there, I’m not going to be emotional.’
“I think that’s where men struggle mentally. Ed does that. He knew what I was dealing with.
“There are two or three scenes that were very difficult to shoot, but we are lucky as actors to be able to share our stories in a way that we hope will connect with the audience.”
In 2010, a persistent cough and consequent respiratory problems led to two consecutive visits to a hospital emergency department, where Maude was initially diagnosed with croup, a type of respiratory infection.
But within two weeks of developing her first symptoms, she had died. In fact, he had been the victim of sepsis, an insidious disease in which the immune system reacts violently to infection, attacks its own tissue, and eventually leads to organ failure.
Role: The actor appeared on the BBC’s The One Show to discuss his role on the show, where he plays a fisherman struggling with the death of his son in an accident several years earlier.
Sepsis, known as the “silent killer,” strikes when an infection, such as blood poisoning, triggers a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.
If caught early, it is easily treated with antibiotics and intravenous fluids, but these must be given as soon as sepsis is suspected: it strikes with frightening speed, and for every hour of delay, the patient’s chance of death increases by 8 percent.
Earlier this month, the star and his wife Clara marked their 12th birthday since Maude’s death, and Jason also shared a heartfelt tribute to his girl on Twitter.
Very sad: In 2010, a persistent cough led to two consecutive visits to an A&E hospital, where Maude was initially diagnosed with croup, but died of sepsis two weeks later.
Detailing how they marked the occasion, he told The Mirror: ‘Clara and I got really emotional that day and in the run up to the anniversary. We just walk to her bank as a family and with friends, then everyone heads back to our house. It’s a nice thing to do.
Jason and his wife Clara, who already had an older daughter, Bessie, decided to try for another child after Maude’s death.
Their son Gilbert, now 11 years old, was born a year later.
Couple: Last month, the star and his wife Clara marked their 12th birthday since Maude’s death, and Jason also shared a heartfelt tribute to his baby girl on Twitter (pictured in 2019)