Charlotte Church has revealed that she believes she “would be dead” without the profound influence of her father, James Church, particularly during her formative years under the intense glare of the public eye.
The Cardiff-born singer shared insights into her close relationship with her father on Deborah Thomas’ podcast, These Three Things. Thomas is a respected public speaking coach.
Church, 39, emphasized her father’s pivotal role in guiding her through the challenges of being a “child star,” acknowledging the potential pitfalls: “It’s so arduous and there are so many temptations along the way, and so it would have been so easy for me to have fallen into addiction…”
In the candid interview, the acclaimed vocalist noted that she had a “lot going on” and that her father, currently battling a terminal diagnosis of the rare blood disorder amyloidosis, is presently hospitalized.
During the podcast, which prompts guests to identify a significant person, place, and possession that has shaped their lives, Church lauded her father as an “absolutely extraordinary human” who has endured “so much,” including seven bouts of septicaemia.
Recalling the early stages of her career, which involved touring with her mother, Maria, she remarked, “We really missed him on the road. My family aren’t very traditional in any way at all, and so my father was far more sort of like the nurturing one.”
The singer, who recently participated in Celebrity Traitors, achieved international stardom at the young age of 11, earning the title “Voice of an Angel.”
Church detailed how her father joined them on tour after a year, assisting in her care while her mother managed the business aspects of her burgeoning career, portraying him as “the hearth.”
“He was sort of worldly and wise enough that he could ground me in a perspective, ground me in the transience of it all, and that it probably wouldn’t be forever, and just [try] to say let’s enjoy it while it’s here.”
Church, who now manages a wellness retreat in the Nant Caethon Valley in Powys, described the years since her father’s terminal diagnosis nearly a decade ago as a profound “journey.”
“Pretty much every year in those nine years, he’s had a near-death experience where it’s like something’s happened.”
“He has really had to tolerate this rollercoaster of health and emotions and everything associated. But it’s also a very long time to live with a terminal diagnosis, and so it’s massively changed him.”
Reflecting on her father’s profound impact, Church shared, “I’m making him a photo album, and I think that’ll be very emotional for us to go through.”
“But in general, I am able to tell him what he means to me, and how he has massively shaped my life and shaped who I am.”
“Without him, I’d be dead.”
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