ITV GMB's Susanna Reid fights back tears as she's left 'in awe' of Southport survivor
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid was overcome with emotion as she listened to Southport survivor Leanne Lucas, who was critically injured in a knife attack, on the ITV show.
Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid was visibly moved during a poignant interview with Leanne Lucas on Wednesday's programme. Susanna, alongside her co-presenter Richard Madeley, engaged in conversation with Leanne, a yoga teacher who suffered life-threatening injuries in the Southport knife attack last year, which tragically ended the lives of three young girls - Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Aguiar.
Leanne appeared on GMB with Patrick Green, the CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, to announce the initiation of the Let's Be Blunt campaign. Her goal is to encourage a societal change that favours the use of blunt-ended knives over traditional pointed-tip ones, reducing the likelihood of grave injuries.
Upon introducing Leanne to the viewers, Susanna spoke to her with deep empathy and admiration. "I'm just sitting here in awe of your courage to be here this morning, to reflect on what happened last summer. I know that you will have been changed and become a very different person because of what happened to you," Susanna remarked, reports Bristol Live.
She continued: "I know that it's vital to you that you find something that helps you get something out of the trauma and tragedy, that means that you could, in the future, perhaps, save lives.
"And, that's what this campaign is all about, isn't it?"
Leanne concurred with Susanna's remarks, then tearfully elaborated: "Yes. Evil will not win. There has to be something that comes out of this, there has to be change.
"This cannot happen to the families it happened to, and we just sit back and do nothing about it. I will not let that happen."
As a yoga instructor, Leanne proceeded to discuss her recovery process, highlighting the significance of openly discussing knife crime.
In a heart-wrenching admission, Leanne shared that she had not returned to her teaching role and remained uncertain about her future in the profession.
"No. My role was a teacher. To be responsible for the safety of children. That's a really difficult position for me to ever be back in again, to be responsible for anybody else," she sorrowfully revealed to Richard and Susanna.
"It's a really difficult situation to be in when you're faced with something you just never imagined could happen."
When Richard inquired if knowing she had done her best during the attack had aided her recovery, Leanne responded: "Not really, because look what happened. We can't change the result of what happened."
She continued: "So, if we can do anything to make sure that people don't feel the way I feel, the way the families feel, the way Southport feels, then we will continue to talk about this. I think that's one of the main things I'm trying to say, is we need to talk about knife crime."
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