Holly Willoughby was moved to tears during a discussion about a child forced to flee the war in Ukraine alone on Tuesday’s This Morning.
The presenter was seen sobbing as the ITV daytime show featured the story of an 11-year-old who travelled more than 600 miles to Slovakia by himself to escape the conflict.
The boy left his home in Zaporizhzhia – close to the nuclear plant that came under attack from Russian forces last week – with just a plastic bag, a passport and a phone number written on his hand, the Guardian reported.
His mother Yulia Pisetskaya, who is a widow and was unable to leave with him as she needed to care for her disabled mother, packed him off to find safety in Slovakia, where he has since been reunited with relatives.
Commentator Nicola Thorp, who agreed with criticism that the UK government is not doing enough to help Ukrainian refugees to reach safety here, said: “I don’t want to live in a world where this is the best option. Children should not be waiting, especially not on their own, at these borders.
“I wish children could get here, in the UK, safely and then we can figure out their paperwork.”
Fellow commentator Julia Hartley-Brewer agreed that it “broke her heart” to think of the young boy travelling across the continent not knowing when he would see his family again.
Co-host Phillip Schofield then cut to a break as an emotional Holly turned away from the cameras to compose herself.
In a video message posted on Facebook, the boy’s mother thanked the people of Slovakia for “saving the life of my child”.
“In your small country, there are people with big hearts,” she said (via the Guardian).
“I want to thank the Slovak customs and volunteers who took care of my son and helped him cross the border. I am grateful you have saved my child’s life.”
The Slovakian interior ministry added that the boy “won everybody’s hearts with his smile, fearlessness and determination, worthy of a real hero”.
“Thanks to the number on his hand and a piece of paper in his waist, he managed to contact his loved ones, who came for him later, and the whole story ended well,” it said.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.