LORRAINE Kelly has been left devastated over the death of a young ITV colleague.
The telly world was left in mourning after beloved friend and co-worker Hannah Hawkins, 25, lost her battle with breast cancer.
The sad news comes months after the producer – who worked on Lorraine’s eponymous morning show – discovered her cancer had recently returned.
Mum-of-one Hannah had just weeks before given birth to baby Rory with her beloved husband Tom.
Paying tribute to her late pal, Lorraine, 63, opened her show with a heartfelt message after sharing the “saddest news” on Instagram.
The Scots star said: “We’ve got some very sad news about a much-loved member of our team.
“Our producer Hannah Hawkins died just before the weekend, after discovering her cancer had returned only a few months ago, just shortly after she gave birth to her beautiful boy Rory.
“She was amazing at raising awareness and money for breast cancer.”
“Too young, too soon. It’s really difficult for all of us”
Hannah passed away just hours before husband and partner of 13 years Tom’s birthday.
The grieving husband poured his heart out on social media and hailed his “remarkable” wife.
He wrote: “There is no way I can pay tribute or sum you up in one post. I could write an essay on how unfair this is.
“That you miss out on seeing Rory growing up, that he won’t be able to feel the love of his mum, and that this terrible illness took hold so quickly. But that’s not how you saw it.
“The remarkable person that you were, the phrase you used so many times over the last few weeks – and it set me off every time; “I’m so at peace with the life I’ve lived” is something we can all admire.
“The fact that right until the end you were putting others’ feelings first and making us all laugh was just you to a tee.
“Your life can be defined simply by love, friendship and strength and I’ll make sure these are cornerstones of Rory’s life.
“I want him to know how much everyone loved his mum, and how much love you gave.
“How you would say to me in any of my dark moments, ”remember you are so loved’.
“I want him to know that you were someone who could walk into a room of strangers and come out having made friends for life and that our social calendar was always so full we physically couldn’t fit in everyone we wanted to see.
“I also want him to know the bravery you showed every day, facing anything life threw at you with the strength of a warrior, a smile on your face and laughter in your eyes.
“This is the legacy you leave for our little boy, this and so much more.”
Scores of well-wishers also flocked to Tom’s Instagram page with an outpouring of lovely messages and support.
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