Comedian Paul Merton has spoken about the death of both his parents last year, revealing that his father, Albert Martin, had secretly kept a scrapbook of his career. The discovery came after his mother's funeral, when the family returned to the family home.
Martin, a former tube driver for London Transport, was known for his reluctance to praise his son. Merton recalled pestering to see him drive a District line train, only to receive a half-hearted wave. 'I wanted my dad to be a hero, but he wasn’t having any of it,' Merton said.
On his final visit to his father in hospital, Martin broke his usual reserve, telling Merton he was proud of him. 'Talk about leaving it late, Dad,' Merton thought, but instead told his father how proud he was to see him drive that train.
His mother, Mary Power, a former nurse from County Waterford, died a few weeks later. Merton said it was a blessing as they would not have coped alone. The scrapbook, filled with newspaper cuttings of his entire career and television appearances, left Merton 'shaking my head in amazement'.
Merton also discussed his marriages, including to Caroline Quentin and to Sarah Parkinson, who died of cancer in 2003. He is now married to fellow comedian Suki Webster.
