John Stapleton

The thing you’ll miss most of all is not having someone to do nothing with.  

Born in 1946 in Oldham, Lancashire, John Stapleton is a journalist who has presented breakfast television shows such as GMTV and Daybreak on ITV and hosted BBC programmes such as Nationwide and Watchdog. Throughout his career, he has reported on major events such as the Falklands War, the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina and has interviewed figures such as Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou and Tony Blair.

In April 2020, John’s wife Lynn, a Scottish TV presenter who co-hosted Watchdog with him, passed away from a stroke, after 43 years of marriage. John and his son were able to be with Lynn in her final moments and had recently been able to spend time with her on a family holiday, so are grateful that they could be there for her in her last months. In his interview, John discusses being unprepared for Lynn to pass away before him and coming to terms with the loss of his life partner.

It’s not until someone’s gone that you realise the value of that mere presence.