Martin Lewis breaks down while discussing his mother’s death in a road traffic accident on GMB

Martin Lewis burst into tears during a performance on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, as he discussed his mother’s tragic death in a road accident.

The 50-year-old money guru was also absent from the show for a while after a commercial break, forcing Susanna Reid to present the program solo.

When he revealed that his mother died just three days before he turned 12, Martin compared his own grief to that of Prince Harry, whose mother Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997.

Martin’s mother Susan Lewis was killed by a truck while riding a horse with his sister, and the money-saving expert struggled to hide his grief as he discussed the upcoming procession for Queen Elizabeth II.

Martin told Susanna, ‘I wasn’t going to say this on the broadcast, but it resonates very strongly with someone who lost their mother at the same age as Harry in a road accident.

‘I find it very difficult to watch. Thank goodness I wasn’t made to be left behind. I didn’t even go. It does bring something back…’

Touching: The money guru was also briefly absent from the show later on after a commercial break, leaving Susanna Reid to present the program solo

Sad: Martin revealed his mother died just three days before he turned 12 and compared his own grief to that of Princes Harry and William (pictured) whose mother Princess Diana was murdered

Emotionally: Martin said to Susanna: ‘I wasn’t going to say this on the broadcast, but it resonates very strongly with me for someone who lost their mother at the same age as Harry in a road accident’

Martin choked on his words and asked Susanna to continue composing himself, and she replied, “Oh Martin. When these kinds of events happen, they cause a lot of personal grief. We totally understand.’

Later in the show, Martin was absent from his seat after a commercial break, forcing Susanna to read the autocue solo.

The camera zoomed in on her as Martin returned to his set, though no reason was given for his absence.

Difficult: ‘I find it very difficult to watch. Thank goodness I wasn’t made to be left behind. I didn’t even go. It does bring something…’ he said before choking on his words

On Wednesday, members of the royal family will walk behind the Queen’s casket as it leaves Buckingham Palace to travel to Westminster Hall to be laid in state.

Among the royals taking part are Princes Harry and William, who both walked behind their mother Diana’s coffin at her funeral 25 years ago.

In June 2020, Lewis recalled how he didn’t leave his home six years after his mother’s death.

Speaking on BBC Four’s Desert Island Discs, he shared how his “childhood ended that day” and that he developed a crippling fear that kept him from leaving the house because he “couldn’t handle the thought” that something else bad was going to happen.

He said, ‘My mother was there one day and the next she wasn’t there and that was it. This was 1984 and you had no guidance. My childhood ended that day and I’m still not over it.’

He revealed that he stayed home all the time, except when he went to school, and continued, “I never left the house, couldn’t leave the house.

“Because I wasn’t home when it happened to my mother and I couldn’t handle the thought of leaving the house because something else might happen.”

The money guru, who is Jewish, shared how he would pretend to be engaged in religious events to avoid socializing with his peers outside of school.

“It was really hard because when all my friends from school went to parties and met girls and things like that, which I’ve wanted to do, I couldn’t handle it.”

He added: ‘It was a complete lie, I was a little boy. I was a little boy struggling with something no one at that age should have to deal with.”

Lewis previously spoke about his grief in an interview on Loose Women, where he admitted that for decades he found it difficult to be open about the ordeal.

“I’m still deeply scarred 35 years later,” he told the panel. “It was a defining point in my life.

“It changed the way I act and behave. It was devastating. ‘We didn’t know what to do. It was the mid 80’s, you didn’t do that sort of thing. My father, my sister and I were unbelievably hurt for so long.’