Laura Nuttall's sister launches sibling loss podcast

The sister of the late cancer campaigner Laura Nuttall is launching a podcast to help others who have experienced the loss of a sibling.

Laura, from Barrowford, Lancashire, was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer at 19 and made headlines after ticking off a bucket list of ambitions before her death in May 2023.

Gracie Nuttall has devised The Dead Siblings Society podcast series with Callum Fairhurst, the founder of the Sibling Support charity, who lost his brother, Liam, at the age of 14.

Gracie said more needed to be done to help people cope "because it’s not talked about enough, and that is the aim of the podcast".

Now 22, Gracie was aged 16 when her sister was diagnosed and given just 12 months to live in 2018.

However, Laura defied the prognosis and lived for a further four-and-a-half years and, alongside campaigning, worked her way through a list of ambitions, which saw her meet Michelle Obama, command a Royal Navy ship, graduate from the University of Manchester and present the weather for the BBC.

Gracie described Laura's achievements as "just incredible", adding: "To say I miss her everyday would be an understatement.

"I miss her in everything. I miss her every breath."

A TikTok video Gracie made about her sister's journey in November went viral with more than 12m views in little over 24 hours.

Gracie said it led to receiving thousands of messages from people who related to her pain with their own similar experiences.

She was invited to talk about the video on BBC Breakfast, where she met fellow guest, Callum, the founder of the UK's only sibling-specific bereavement charity.

His brother, Liam, died in 2009 and Callum - who was 12 at the time - said he still remembered everything about the entire day including kissing him goodbye.

"You never expect, when you are 12 years old, to say goodbye to your brother forever," he said.

The pair clicked and now Gracie and Callum want to reach and support others with the podcast, which launches on Tuesday with new episodes available every two weeks.

Gracie said: "I think there needs to be a lot more of a conversation and a lot more done to help children and adults who lose siblings because it’s not talked about enough, and that is the aim of the podcast.

"But [talking] doesn’t work for everybody. Some people don’t want to talk about it and that’s OK, too."

Gracie's mother, Nicola, who has carried on Laura's legacy of campaigning to raise awareness of brain cancer, was watching on as the pair recorded the podcast.

Mrs Nuttall said: "To hear [Gracie] talk about Laura and about her own experiences so eloquently in the hope of helping other people, it's just amazing and I am so proud of her."

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