Jason Watkins and his wife Clara Francis have opened up about the devastating loss of their daughter Maude and revealed it could have been “avoided”.
The 60 year old star and his wife sadly lost their adorable little girl in 2011 when she was just two years old at the time.
The little one had sadly been suffering from the flu at the time, but the illness soon progressed into undiagnosed sepsis, which ultimately ended her young life.
Now, twelve years on, the couple are bravely revisiting the heartbreaking moment as part of a new documentary Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie, which will see them offer support to other families who have also lost a child.
Believing that Maude’s death was “avoidable”, Clara said: 'I've always felt with Maude, she was just unlucky (…). That makes it so much more painful to me because this is a death that could have been avoided.”
The heartbreaking documentary aired on ITV at 9pm on Thursday, as the couple asked the question: What happened to Maudie?
But who exactly are Jason and Clara and what did happen to Maudie?
Who are Jason Watkins and Clara Francis?
Many fans will undoubtedly recognise Jason’s face – but may not always recall his name, as the talented star of stage and screen has been a constant presence in the mainstream media throughout his career.
Among some of his most memorable career highlights are his leading role in two-part 2014 drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, and even as Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the third series of Netflix's hit The Crown.
In 2020 he also starred alongside Doctor Who actor David Tennant in the gripping serial killer drama Des.
But away from the cameras, Jason is a loving husband to his jewellery and fashion designer wife Clara, who he married back in 2014.
Together the couple welcomed two daughter, Bessie and Maude, and a son, Gilbert, however Maude sadly later died.
Prior to his marriage with Clara, Jason was also married to actress Caroline Harding, with the couple sharing two older children, Freddie and Pip.
What happened to their daughter Maude?
On the morning of New Year’s Day 2011, Jason experienced the worst thing a parent can ever have to face, when he tragically found his two year old daughter, Maude dead in her bed.
In the days leading up to the death, the youngster had been suffering from the flu yet despite two trips to the hospital, her flu symptoms masked the sepsis and the illness sadly went undiagnosed.
Know to many as a “silent killer” Sepsis is a widespread immune response to a system infection, such as blood poising, and causes the body to attack it’s own organs.
When caught early, the condition is easily treated with supportive measures such as IV antibiotics and fluids, but these need to be given as soon as the condition is suspected, as sepsis is a rapidly progressing illness that can kill in a matter of hours.
According to research, for every hour treatment is delayed, a person’s chance of dying from the conditions increases by 8 per cent.
Detailing what happened on that fateful date in a recent episode of Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Clara said: “I've always felt with Maude, she was just unlucky. You know, another child may have gone to A&E and they've had a consultant there who has gone 'I think this could be sepsis' and their child is alive.”
Blaming herself for what happened, Clara also asked herself: “Why didn't I scream at shout at the hospital and demand they keep her there? (…) I failed at the thing I was supposed to be doing, I was supposed to keep her alive.”
Looking back further to the start of Maude’s illness a few days before her tragic death, Jason explained that she had only suffered from a cold and a sore throat at first, which adorably turned her voice a little husky, much to the amusement of the rest of the family.
Explaining how they “never thought it was serious”, the couple waited a week for the symptoms to budge, but when they showed no signs of relenting and she appeared to be getting worse, the couple took Maude to the GP as they were worried she may have a chest infection.
After seeking medical advice, Maude was diagnosed with croup and sent back home, but her condition soon worsened and the following day she was struggling to breathe.
Detailing the harrowing experience of watching his child losing consciousness as she went pale and floppy, the couple raced to A&E with their daughter, where a consultant was able to get her temperature back down and to feel a little calmer.
The doctor then advised Jason and Clara to take Maude home, as she might feel better in more familiar surroundings.
Following the advice of the doctor, the couple reluctantly took their daughter home, but tragedy struck the following morning, when their daughter Bessie, who shared a room with Maude, came in to tell them she couldn’t wake her sister up.
It was at that moment the couple knew that something was terribly wrong and that their worst fears had become a reality.
ITV Documentary
Revisiting the circumstances surrounding Maude’s death as part of their new ITV documentary, meant that for the first time Jason and Clara had sat down together to go through every detail with a fine tooth comb.
Both parents attended therapy sessions to help them get a handle on their grief, but never attended together, and it was only while filming the new series, that they realised just how different their memories of Maude’s final days actually were.
In one particularly brutal moment, Clara reflected on how she felt her grandmother should have died and not her daughter at the height of her grief.
The thought had been triggered by memories of the Christmas prior to Maude’s death, when the whole family had been enjoying the celebration at Clara’s mum’s house, and they’d been cooking in the kitchen together with her mum and grandma.
“I remembering thinking 'I'm going to look back on this one day, because my grandmother isn't going to be here anymore' And then I remember when Maude died thinking, you were the one that was supposed to die not Maude and being quite cross about it,” lamented Clara.
“Of course, nobody should be dying, but you know she was 93 and she was still alive, and she even said to me 'it should've been me' and I think I probably said 'yes, it should've been you, because you're 93.”
Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie is available to stream now on ITVX
If you need further support or information about bereavement and grief, mental health charity Mind can be contacted via 0300 123 3393.
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