ITV Good Morning Britain viewers 'tearful' over D-Day veteran's 'loneliness' admission

Dorothea Barron appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

By Fran Winston, Showbiz Reporter

09:18, Wed, May 29, 2024 | UPDATED: 10:59, Wed, May 29, 2024

Good Morning Britain: D-Day veteran admits she gets lonely

Good Morning Britain viewers were moved to tears by an "inspirational" D-Day Navy WREN guest. Dorothea Barron was a WREN during WW2 and taught semaphore signalling to the troops ahead of D-Day.

Determined to do her bit for the war effort, she lied about her height in 1943, when she was 18, so she could join up and support D-Day. The determined young woman put cardboard in her shoes to convince them she was taller.

She appeared in the show ahead of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, which she will be travelling to Normandy to mark, and was full of life. However, when host Richard Madeley asked her how it feLt to be nearly 100, she moved viewers when she admitted to suffering from loneliness.

"It seems incredible, quite honestly I don’t feel nearly 100 that’s the main thing. But I do feel lonely at times when my lovely daughters can’t visit me.

"And I hate going to bed on my own – I mean the cat comes up with me every night. It’s [called] Shadow. He’s black, pure black, and my little grandsons as they were then - because he is very ancient now, the cat - they called him Shadow," she said fondly.

Head and shoulders shot of Dorothea Barron appearing on Good Morning Britain

Dorothea Barron admitted she gets lonely during a Good Morning Britain appearance (Image: ITV)

Viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their admiration for Dorothea, describing her as "inspriational". @deli21girl asked: "Oh can I adopt her #gmb." @RumouredRebecca offered: "I'll come and sit with you, Dorothea... #gmb."

@KTDuk wrote: "Let me tell you, Dorothea is an absolute inspiration. Unbelievable. Almost had me in tears when she talked about loneliness. #GMB."

@JenRyan87097577 opined: "#gmb How lovely is Dorothea. Don't usually watch GMB but turned the TV on just as her interview began. So glad I caught it, she's a true gem"

@Iain_McCallum wrote: "So very dignified and charming - a remarkable lady. Thank you for bringing Dorothea and her story to us this morning. Inspirational! Delightful! She made me cry happy tears."

@iamicaniwill chimed in: "Remarkable and a reminder that #mindset is everything. I feel uplifted and inspired after watching Dorothea."

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Three people sitting chatting on the Good Morning Britain sofa while a picture of a young women inthe 1940s is in the foreground

Dorethea Barron was a big hit with Good Morning Britain viewers (Image: ITV)

Dorethea, who still teaches yoga despite almost being a centenarian, told the presenters that the height requirement for being a WREN was 5' 3", and she was only 5'2", so put cardboard in her shoes and buffed her hair to appear taller.

Expaining that her sister was already a WREN and her uncle had lost the use of one lung in the World War I, she said she "couldn't wait" to get invovled in the war effort.

Speaking about why she felt it was important, she said: "I think it was that they [the Germans] are not going to come into England and I tolerated that all through my childhood and in school." She went on to explain that sometimes she couldn't get to school because of the air raids.

Good Morning Britain is on ITV weekdays at 6am.