Terry Butcher was left fighting back tears during an appearance on Good Morning Britain as he paid tribute to his son Chris, who died aged 35 after battling PTSD following his army service
Former England captain Terry Butcher struggled to hold back tears during an appearance on Good Morning Britain.
The football icon joined presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on the ITV daytime programme ahead of a new documentary chronicling his life.
Butcher: Invisible Wounds examines both the personal and professional journey of the Ipswich Town legend, covering his football career and the heartbreaking loss of his son.
Butcher’s son Chris passed away aged 35 following a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his military service.
Beginning the segment on Good Morning Britain on Monday, June 1, Ed described both Terry and his son as different types of “heroes”, reports the Mirror.
Terry said: “It was strange really, because you sort of see lots of sons follow in their father’s footsteps now in modern football, but he wasn’t really a football player.
“He went to school and it was rugby and cricket, he excelled at that. He did love his football, but when he played for small teams, I’m left-footed, but he’s right-footed, so the coach automatically thought he should play on the left side, but he struggled on the left side.”
Terry continued discussing his son’s military career and the mental health challenges he faced upon his return.
“That was hard to live with,” he acknowledged, referring to what Chris had experienced during his army service.
“There’s still what I call a ticking-time bomb in a lot of service men and women,” he continued, calling for greater support for veterans.
“When Chris came back from Afghanistan, there wasn’t a lot of help out there,” he said, adding: “It was difficult for us, we didn’t know where to turn.”
As Terry discussed his son’s death and the forthcoming documentary in greater detail, he struggled to contain his emotions, becoming visibly upset during the interview.
“It was horrible for him,” he said, explaining that his son was unable to overcome the severe PTSD he endured.
“The documentary is a bit of a tough watch, there are funny points in it as well. The thing about my career with football, I get embarrassed when I see myself on TV… it’s not about glory or anything else, I’m a football player. It’s not about glory, it’s about doing your job as you do, and Chris did his job.
“You have my career, and then you have Chris’ passing which is tragic, and you come out at the end of the documentary with hope. There’s more hope now than ever before for these veterans, and through Combat2Coffee, and through all the other charities, they can get help. You are not alone.”
He continued: “When you’ve suffered a trauma, it’s very tough to talk about it, you feel embarrassed because it’s something that happened to you personally.
“Like me watching the football now, it’s personal. I don’t like watching me play or the documentary, I had to stop and start the documentary, it’s embarrassing for me, but the latter part is more interesting because it is about people talking to each other that have suffered, and about the families that suffered, because it has a ripple effect when you drop a pebble into a pond, you see the ripple effect. PTSD is like that with the families, because family and friends suffer.
“We suffered acutely, it was horrible, and I didn’t want to talk about Chris. I find it cathartic a little bit talking about him now, more so than I’ve ever done.
“When I see him on the screen now, I have a big lump in my throat and I’ve got to get over that first, but I’ve learnt to do that gradually.
“But you’re still not out of it, you’ll never be out of grief but Combat2Coffee and helping people has been so good to me and hopefully it will be good to other people too, all throughout the country.”
Visibly moved, he jokingly said to hosts Ed and Susanna: “Thanks for making me cry!”
As Susanna said, “sorry about that,” Ed replied: “He would have been so proud of you as a dad and everything you did in your career and for your country, and you’re also really proud of him.”
Terry added: “We were proud of each other. He was a bit of a devil as well, I’m a bit of a devil too sometimes. We’re so much like each other. He was a special boy and his memory will always be there and I hope his memory now will help other people. I do find it tough.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
Butcher: Invisible Wounds will air on ITV4 on June 9.
If you or someone part of the armed forces community need support with practical or emotional challenges, you can contact the Outreach Team at Combat2Coffee Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, at [email protected] or call 01473 956262.
