Ray Quinn and his wife Emily have spoken publicly about the stillbirth of their baby boy, Rio, who was born sleeping in August. Appearing on Monday's Good Morning Britain (October 19) with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, the couple described the experience as "still very raw" and said they want to help others going through similar loss.
Sharing Their Story on National Television
Ray, known for his role as Anthony Murray in Brookside and as runner-up to Leona Lewis on The X Factor in 2006, fought back tears as he discussed the most difficult period of their lives. The couple, who are also parents to a young daughter named Summer, had been expecting their baby boy in December, but learned that his heart had stopped six months into the pregnancy.
Emily explained their motivation: "It's hard and I feel like through our grief we would like to spread awareness and help people. Obviously we're still grieving now and that will be a very long time, but we've got to roll with it and our way of dealing with it is to raise awareness and help as many people as we can."
A Devastating Discovery
Emily, who had also experienced a miscarriage before their son was stillborn, recalled the moment they received the news. She had been in the middle of renovating their house when she realised she hadn't felt the baby move for several days, initially attributing it to having an anterior placenta. But a check-up revealed the tragedy.
"We had the scan and in the moment when she put the scan on my stomach, our whole world stopped," she said. "It was one of the worst weeks of our lives." Ray added: "It's devastating, it stops you in your tracks."
Finding Support and Raising Awareness
The couple praised the Honeysuckle Team, a baby and pregnancy loss bereavement service, and other charities that supported them. Ray described the help they received: "As soon as we sat down we spoke with a lady and she made me see it from a different perspective... She was just so calm, and said, 'We've got football teams, Ray, you can play with your son's name on the back, we've got a choir, do you want to join the choir?' It was just relaxed and fun."
Following their public disclosure on their podcast and social media, Ray received an overwhelming response from other fathers who had endured the same tragedy. He said: "I've had messages from men, blokes and you can see they're burly lads, and they're saying things like, 'Thank you, I've been in absolute turmoil but I don't feel alone anymore'."
The couple previously shared their loss on social media, posting: "RIO QUINN" Our beautiful boy, born Sleeping... 20th August 2026. No words will ever be enough, just a lot of indescribable feelings. Heaven gained the most beautiful little Angel and we were overjoyed when Rio was born and we found out we had a little boy !!"
They also discussed the loss on their YouTube channel "THE QUINNS", noting that the episode was hard to film and not a decision they took lightly, but they hope it helps others in similar situations. Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
