Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid expressed their devastation as one of Britain’s oldest identical twins died aged 96.
Doris Hobday, who was a popular guest on Good Morning Britain alongside her twin Lil Cox, sadly died on January 5 following a battle with coronavirus.
Breaking the news on Wednesday, Piers told viewers: ‘It’s a very sad day for her family and also particularly for Lil and also for all of us here at Good Morning Britain because they brought such a ray of sunshine to our lives during the first wave of this pandemic with their infectious humour, great laugh and cheekiness.’
Susanna added: ‘Doris Hobday passed away on Tuesday the 5th of January. She will be laid to rest with her husband who she lost 11 years ago. They were married for 65 years and her funeral is taking place on Monday 15th of February.’
However, in a sad twist of fate, it was revealed that Doris had received her vaccine letter just two days after she died.
In a statement, her family said: ‘Doris was only a few weeks away from being safe, with her vaccine letter arriving two days after her death.
‘If you are offered the vaccine, please take it, do not refuse it. Doris did not get this choice.
‘We are aware they’re both 96-years-old and we’ve been so lucky to have them in our lives for such a long time. But they were both still going strong before this virus got them and both were determined to live until 100.’
The family added: ‘They had so much to live for, it’s just so cruel that Covid has stopped Doris like this. Our thoughts go out to all the families who have experienced a loss through Covid and we urge people to take this seriously.’
Earlier this month, Doris and Lil revealed their surprise at testing positive for coronavirus after getting negative results just before Christmas.
However, Lil then revealed in a Facebook post: ‘A few days ago Doris had a high temperature and Lil had a cough, so we took a 2nd test and unfortunately the results came back positive.
‘We are both in shock…we have been inside for most of 2020 sticking to all the rules and being careful, now this has happened and we can’t work out why or where we’ve picked it up from.
‘We are writing this hoping we can save people from getting this horrible virus.’
Doris and her twin Lil, who is still in hospital fighting Covid-19, became viral sensations last year with their appearance on This Morning when they revealed Channel 4 had invited them to go on Naked Attraction.
They also entertained GMB viewers in May when they revealed the secret to a long life was ‘plenty of sex’. Lil also told Piers that she would ‘die happy’ if she were able to have a one-night stand with actor Jason Statham.
Instead of flowers, the family have asked for donations, instead of flowers, to The Beacon Centre for the Blind, and have set up a fundraising page for the public.