Sherrie Hewson breaks down in tears over the death of her brother Brett
Brett #Brett
Sherrie Hewson broke down in tears as she discussed grieving for her beloved brother during an appearance on Tuesday’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Last April, former Coronation Street star Sherrie’s brother Brett Hutchinson died from an incurable brain tumour aged 71, following a battle with pneumonia.
Sherrie met with psychotherapist and ex-Gladiator star Diane Youdale in an emotional film about how to cope with grief – where she admitted she doesn’t feel she can ever get over the death of her brother.
Sherrie said: ‘My brother was the most beautiful man ever. I don’t think I can ever get over it…I’m here to see Diane because I think I have to have some help.
‘I think sometimes you have to talk to somebody else and see what they see. It is like looking in a mirror isn’t it, because when you look in a mirror you see yourself the wrong way round – you never see your face and that is what I think, you’ve got to have someone who can see you.’
Speaking to Diane, Sherrie said: ‘I’ve been in a very strange place, I just cry and cry and cry. That is not a bad thing, I don’t mind crying, but I can’t keep doing it. I can’t find a handle to hold onto.’
Diane says: ‘Grieving affects everyone differently. It will be solely based on what is based to that person’s landscape. It is not a clear-cut cycle whereby you go “this is the period of anger, this is the period of depression”.
‘You can go in and out of any point of this cycle during your grieving stages.’
Opening up on the anger that grief has caused her, Sherrie said: ‘The other thing is that I don’t understand is that I’m not an angry person. I have such an anger inside of me…
Sherrie went on to say that she is comforted by Brett’s continued presence, saying: ‘I can often see him; he often walks with me.
‘Sometimes in my living room he’ll be sitting on the other settee. I often say, I’m glad no one is here with us or they’ll thing I’m potty!’
Diane responded: ‘Does it give you a lot of comfort that you feel that you are very near to him and using that part of you which sounds like him?’
Sherrie said: ‘Yes it does, but then the other bit comes in where I go ‘oh god he’s not here’ and then I get frightened.’
Discussing how Sherrie was managing her grief, Diane said: ‘You’re like a programme, running slow, you’re going far down the line of grief, then you get frightened, you jam, you change state.
‘If it’s getting too close, you think, let’s stop thinking about this now.’
The Loose Women star revealed in August 2019 that her brother had a grade four glioblastoma and he had been given 18 months to live.
Back in April, Sherrie expressed her fear that she would never see her terminally ill brother again due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the time, Brett was in hospital fighting his brain tumour, and due to the threat of the virus, she wasn’t able to visit him.
Speaking to Yours Magazine, the star said: ‘My brother is in hospital with a brain tumour. I call him every other day but he is very ill and I don’t know if he’ll come out of this.’
‘My family are absolutely everything to me yet I haven’t been able to see my two granddaughters aged nine years and nine months, my 13-year-old grandson, and my darling daughter Keeley.
‘We’re in touch all the time but it’s really hard not being able to cuddle and kiss them.’
In August Sherrie claimed COVID-19 ‘had something to do with’ his passing and believes that her brother knew but didn’t want to make ‘a fuss’.
Speaking during an interview on talkRADIO’s Drivetime, Sherrie said: ‘I’ll always believe that Covid had something to do with his, they call it pneumonia but I don’t believe that.
‘Controversially, I believe that that’s what it was called but no one, you can’t prove things, the sadness and the pain was too big to carry on and create a fuss.’
The actress went on to say that she and her family all attended Brett’s funeral to ensure he was sent off ‘the right way’.
Reflecting on the difficult period in her life, she added: ‘So it’s been horrendous, but this is a year I will never, never forget.’
A glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive form of brain tumours in adults.
The cause of glioblastomas are currently unknown, but they are usually treated with surgery, followed by a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Due to glioblastomas having tendrils that extend to other regions of the brain, it can be difficult to fully remove all of the growth.
Sherrie told OK! in June: ‘I take three steps forwards, two steps back, I’m trying to move forward, but I just wish my brother was still here. I’m devastated, my heart is broken, but I have to find a way to mend my heart. I’ve got to find the those little bits of my heart and I will find them because I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.’
She added: ‘I’m fine sometimes, but I have days where I hurt very much so I have to find a way of getting rid of that and being strong. My daughter and granddaughters get me through. I might have a flip but everyday I’m getting stronger.’
