Comedian Rob Delaney reveals why he ‘loves’ to talk about dead son after admitting he wants to die in same room as him
Actor and comedian Rob Delaney has opened up about why he 'loves' to keep talking about his late son, Henry.
Star of Channel 4's Catastrophe, Rob, and his wife, Leah, lost their two-year-old son, Henry, following the tragic diagnosis of a brain tumour.
In his book A Heart That Works, Rob wrote: "I lay with him, and Leah held him and danced with him. His brothers read to him and played with him.
"It was just the five of us in the house. Five people who loved each other and needed each other. Henry opened his eyes and looked into Leah’s eyes around five the next morning. Then he died."
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During an appearance on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Rob shared that Henry had passed away in the same room his last son was born in.
Rob also shared that he has asked the landlord of the house that Henry passed away in to let him know if he was ever selling it so he could buy the home.
Rob recounted the conversation with his landlord, saying: "Listen, if you ever go to sell this place, let me know first because I would like to buy it.
"So when I'm 81 I can crawl in here and die. In the same room that my son died in, that my other son was born in."
The 47-year-old actor recently appeared on Today with Hoda & Jenna, where he shared his reasons for continuing to love talking about his son.
He said: "I love to talk about him. He’s my son, I’m his dad. His brothers miss him, his mum misses him, and he’s part of our family, so I don’t know how to not talk about him."
He also shared: "Henry was better than other children. And he was so funny and his brain tumor was in the back of his head near his brain stem, so it brought him a lot of physical disabilities ‘cause that stuff is controlled back there.
"But his frontal lobe was fine so he was very funny and smart and charming and gorgeous and flirty and silly and brilliant.
"He learned sign language cause he couldn’t talk cause he had a tracheostomy."
Due to his persistent love of Henry and sharing the story of his grief, Rob often hears from a lot of bereaved parents.
On Instagram, he wrote: "I want to say hello to all the bereaved parents and siblings who have written me and say that I love you. And doesn’t it feel good and right to write about your dead child? To say their name? To see it written down and send it off to someone else? To parent your child in some way, even though their body is gone? You love them. And they love you."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Kya Buller