BBC News presenter Kate Silverton has announced her mother Patricia passed away at the age of 83 after a battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this month.
The 55-year-old TV star and therapist took to Instagram on Tuesday to share the sad news that her mum had died three weeks before her 84th birthday, following a draining course of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Explaining that despite trial drugs reducing her tumour by 42%, the cancer finally ‘caught up with her’ leading to her ‘peaceful and graceful’ passing on 8 April.
Alongside a host of heartwarming images, Kate wrote the accompanying tribute reading: ‘I feel as though I’ve been holding my breath for a very long time. Last summer my dear mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer…
‘Having initially chosen to forgo treatment, she later discovered a clinical trial and requested to take part…
BBC News presenter Kate Silverton has announced her mother Patricia passed away at the age of 83 after a battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this month
Alongside a host of heartwarming images, Kate wrote the accompanying tribute reading: ‘I feel as though I’ve been holding my breath for a very long time. Last summer my dear mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer’
She shared an in memoriam post of her mother featuring a black and white shot
‘At 83, having chemotherapy and immunotherapy was no mean feat, but mum showed incredible bravery and stoicism as she returned each week for treatment.
‘It was as much she said, to help her have more time , as to help others who were sadly in the same situation…
‘The trial drugs showed great promise and mum’s tumour shrank by 42 %. Sadly, however the cancer caught up with her and she passed, peacefully and with great grace on Wednesday 8th April…
‘I am grateful for so much – and my sisters and I know how lucky we are to have had mum with us for as long as we did…
‘My relationship with my mum was complex and had not been without difficulty in earlier decades…
‘I attribute therapy to being able to heal the wounds that existed – and for being able to love my mum – and come to a enjoy a great sense of peace and understanding between us that saw us forge the most beautiful bond in our later years…
She shared a number of incredibly sweet moments in her post
She showed a picture of her mum look at her wedding dress before her 2010 nuptials to Mike Heron
Kate is pictured with her mum after giving birth. The star is mother to ‘her miracle children’ Clemency, 15, and Wilbur, 11, with her Royal Marine husband Mike
‘It means I am able now to remember her for all the good times and all the wonderful things she did – and the joy she brought and support she gave to all in her family…
‘I shall remember her laugh, her sense of style, her logic, intelligence, her protection and love for her family and her extraordinary energy and capacity to ‘do’…
‘Sharing a carousel then in honour of Patricia Ann Silverton 29th April 1942 – 8th April 2026. Fly well mum and give dad a big kiss from us all’.
Kate joyously posed with her mother in a number of touching tributes
Kate shared a sweet snap showing Patricia out with her grandchildren
Kate was also seen posing with her mum on the dancefloor in 2018, when she participated in series 16 of Strictly Come Dancing
Last month, Kate was in the spotligt after she said she has learned how to speak to her inner child and has ‘recovered’ the parts of herself that were lost after being the victim of sexual abuse as a child.
She joked she has had ‘about 200 years of therapy’ and now feels as though she has a ‘little family’ of selves within her. Speaking on the Music & Meditation Podcast on Radio 3 Unwind, Kate said: ‘I consider that I have a little family within me.
‘And if I’m scared or I’m anxious if I’m going out on stage and I’m a bit nervous, I’ll take myself off somewhere quiet and I then check in with all the parts of myself because I have recognised them.
‘I’ll have like, if I’m doing a big event and I’m really nervous, my teenage self might come in. And my teenage self will go ‘I’ve got this mum’ and I’ll be like great, and then I know I’m gonna be fine.’
