Latest news with #JenniferHill
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sir David Jason reveals how his long lost daughter discovered his identify and says despite being 'astonished' to discover he had a secret child its become a true 'happy ever after' story
Sir David Jason has recalled how his long lost daughter Abi Harris discovered the Only Fools And Horses icon was her biological father. The actor, 84, learned of his secret child after 52-years in 2023 following a brief relationship with actress Jennifer Hill during a stage production of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk in 1970. Speaking on Gyles Brandreth's Rosebud podcast he said: '[Me and Jennifer] parted our ways and we drifted apart and she got involved with someone else and married him and that was it,' 'And then many many years later her daughter was talking about about where she came from and Jenny Hill said "That chap you call dad is not your father"'. 'She said: "What do you mean he's not my father?" and she replied "I think you'll find your father is David Jason, because we had a fling together when we did these shows" and that's [how she found out] she said'. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Sir David then agreed with Gyles that despite the shock for everyone involved the reunion became a true 'happy ever after' with Abi welcomed into his family. Opening up on the extraordinary moment in his life and how he wishes he knew Abi sooner, David said in his 2024 memoir This Time Next Year that there is 'the pang of sadness for those missing years, all that lost time'. Explaining that he received the 'most astonishing' letter from the secret daughter he never knew he had, David recalled sitting down in his kitchen and how his hands shook as he started reading it. David said he felt 'wonder and amazement, through anxiety and heartache, to fear and outright panic', when he knew the possibility that he had a second daughter. In the letter, Abi wanted David to take an anonymous paternity test because she was uncertain - but insisted she didn't want any financial support. He penned: 'You will be unsurprised to learn that my hands were shaking by now. What had I just read? I had to go back and read the whole thing again. And then I had to read it again. And then again after that. 'I have to say it really hadn't crossed my mind that Abi Harris was my daughter – that my relationship with Jennifer Hill while we were in that production of Under Milk Wood in 1970 could have produced a child without me knowing about it. 'At no point in the nearly fifty years that had gone by since then had that thought had cause to enter my head.' David credits his wife Gill Hinchcliffe, whom he shares a daughter Sophie with, for being 'so supportive and understanding' about it all, despite the shock they were both in. When he met Abi for the first time, David said they both felt an 'inevitable sense of distance' due to the lost time they had. David added that it was 'such a complicated thing to process, for us both', after their first encounter. When he found out about Abi, he also discovered he had a 10-year-old grandson, Abi's son Charlie. Abi said while she had no idea who her father was - she had her suspicions after hearing about Jason's relationship with her mother. Her belief grew stronger after realising she shared the same shaped nose as him, and her parentage has now been confirmed. She had previously thought her father was Geoffrey Davion, who was married to her mother, until his death in 1996. Since the surprise discovery was made, Abi and Charlie have been to visit him and spent a period over Christmas with him and his family at his home in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire. She also seems to have inherited some of his famed acting ability, having appeared in an episode of Doctor Who and remarkably a revival performance of Under Milk Wood in 2008 where Sir David and her mother also took part. Friends who saw the legendary actor and Abi stood next to each other remarked on their similar facial profiles, and as the years went past, she worked up the courage to find out the truth.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Graduate featured on FOX4 16 years ago after cochlear implant surgery says thank you
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Smith-Cotton graduate in Sedalia, Missouri walks across the stage after a cochlear implant surgery changed her life more than 15 years ago. It's a story FOX4 first covered back in 2009 that's now come full circle. View the latest Weather Alerts in the Kansas City region on FOX4 At just 2-years-old, Kierra Barnett heard her first sound. Our FOX4 cameras caught it on video 16 years ago. Now, Barnett is graduating high school and sent our station a thank you letter for helping her get to that moment. She had a life-changing cochlear implant surgery in 2009. Now, she can hear. It's something many of us take for granted, but not Barnett. She knows how precious it is to hear someone's voice, especially when they're cheering your name at high school graduation. 'I just feel great and ready to be in a new chapter in life,' Barnett said. Barnett heard her name called at graduation in Sedalia. It was milestone moment for the whole family, including sister Abrianna Barnett, who caught it on camera. 'Exciting,' Abrianna Barnett said. 'I actually get to see her embrace herself and meet new people who won't judge her for what she has, but basically for what her personality is. The journey to get this cap and gown wasn't easy. Kierra was born deaf in both ears. Doctors told mom Jennifer Hill, Kierra needed cochlear implants. At that time, in 2009, Kierra was just 2-years-old. Hill said insurance would not cover the surgery and without insurance, it would've cost $160,000. 'It was overwhelming. We didn't want our daughter not being able to hear,' Hill said. 'That's when we emailed FOX4 Problem Solvers and they took on the story and insurance paid for it. They covered it.' FOX4 Problem Solvers put the family in touch with the Midwest Ear Institute at St. Luke's 16 years ago. FOX4 previously reported that the group helped work things out with insurance. Kierra got the surgery, and the audiologist said it was a success. 'Her face just lit up and she was just like, 'What is that.' It was amazing,' Hill said. Kierra said before the cochlear implants, she couldn't hear a single sound. No voices, laughter or music. Now, that's all changed. 'It's going perfect,' Kierra said. 'Very clear,' Barnett said. Kierra can hear. She also learned to speak. The 18-year-old said she's living a life full of sound, communicating and connecting. More than 60,000 without power in Kansas and Missouri as storms move through Kansas City area Although, Kierra said there has been some unwelcome chatter over the years regarding her cochlear implants. 'It's been a rough life because I get made fun of for it. A lot of kids just pick on me most of the time, but I'm just trying to be myself and I just want people to like me for who I am,' Kierra said. 'But they just can't accept that. I just told them, 'I'm just glad I can hear and can talk.'' As Kierra steps into her future, she's grateful for this support system. 'All the support that I've had in my life growing up, I'm just thankful that I can hear, and insurance covered everything,' Kierra said. 'I'm just thankful for everything.' Kierra also sent FOX4 a letter saying: 'Thank you for helping give my story a voice when I didn't have one.' Now, she has a message for others: 'Just be yourself,' Kierra said. 'Don't worry about what other people think about you.' Kierra plans to attend State Fair Community College where she'll study accounting and business. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
