http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/lifestyle-opinion/denise-welch-madeleine-mccanns-parents-6203448Denise Welch: Maddie’s parents need answers to restart their lives
18 Oct 2013 09:06
"It’s inconceivable to us to imagine what this family has gone through, especially during the time when the fingers of blame were pointed towards Kate and Gerry themselves"
There are many people more qualified than me to write about the legal aspects of the Madeleine McCann case.
Six years on the investigation by the Metropolitan Police is front page news again and I’m so happy for the family. They have renewed hope of finding out what happened to their beautiful little girl.
About three years ago, out of the blue, I received a handwritten letter from Madeleine’s grandmother Susan Healy thanking me for comments I had made on TV drawing attention to the disappearance of her granddaughter.
As a result of speaking several times on the telephone, I offered to help with a petition that required 100,000 signatures asking our government to look at the evidence surrounding her disappearance in Praia da Luz.
I’m delighted to have played a miniscule part in bringing this case to life again and the Met are doing an amazing job in uncovering previous hidden aspects of this case.
It’s inconceivable to us to imagine what this family has gone through, especially during the time when the fingers of blame were pointed towards parents Kate and Gerry themselves.
When I publicly supported them I received a barrage of abuse from people who were convinced they had harmed their own child.
Talking to Susan brought it home to me how strong Kate and Gerry were and it was this strength which was mistaken for coldness by many ignorant observers.
They have two other children, Sean and Amelie, and they could not allow their lives to be disrupted completely so they had to try and give them some semblance of “normality”.
During my time on Dancing On Ice after a conversation with Susan, I invited the family to bring the twins to watch the show. Susan said how grateful they felt for the invitation, but that it was difficult for Kate and Gerry to be seen to be enjoying themselves in any way because it led to such bags of hate mail if they were seen smiling in public.
Can you imagine? Knowing that their day-to-day lives can never be the same again, that some people deny them any slight chance of a normal life.
It broke my heart when she told me that on Madeleine’s birthday they all sit in her bedroom, which remains exactly the same as the day she disappeared, hoping and praying that her little face will one day be lying on that same Disney pillow.
From the bottom of my heart I hope that this time the answer to Madeleine’s disappearance will be found and that the family can find some kind of closure and move forward with their lives.