PODCAST: On the Marie Curie Couch with AJ Pritchard
In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, dancer, choreographer and presenter AJ Pritchard sits down with bereavement expert Jason Davidson.
This month, Jason is joined by dancer, choreographer and presenter AJ Pritchard. AJ first appeared on our TV screens in 2013, when he reached the semi-final of Britain's Got Talent at the age of 18. Since then, AJ's featured on four series of Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer, paired with celebs including singer Mollie King. Never one to shy away from a challenge, in 2020 AJ took part in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. In this episode, AJ talks to Jason about the death of his beloved Nanna, Angela, and how he and his brother Curtis first learnt about bereavement.
Getting the news
"I got told that my grandma passed away when I was [filming I'm a Celeb]. I was prepared for it, because I knew that when I went in for the TV show she'd had a fall, that she'd unfortunately broken her hip and it was the time of covid. There were a lot of things happening and I had already been saying goodbye for five-plus years. Still, you never prepare yourself for those words."
Learning about death
"[My brother] Curtis is 15 months younger than me and, in his class at school, he had a friend who unfortunately had leukaemia. We were very young, eight or nine, that sort of age. We were the only two kids from our school who went to the funeral. The funeral was colourful, it was beautiful, it was uplifting and amazing. We had time to cry and mourn. The other kids had so many nightmares."
Because we talked about it, because we, maybe, understood it, we didn't have those nightmares. We processed it in a different way."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to AJ's chat with Jason. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode . Be sure to like and subscribe so you know when we've uploaded a new episode – there are more conversations coming soon.
Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
If you need support with bereavement or grief, call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 or visit mariecurie.org.uk/support
