Kym Marsh still "remembers and celebrates" her stillborn son Archie, 15 years on from the tragedy.
Kym Marsh suffered the devastating loss 15 years ago but still makes sure Archie is very much part of the family
The 47-year-old actress - who has David, 28, and Emilie, 27 with ex-partner Dave Cunliffe, as well as 13-year-old Polly with ex-husband Jamie Lomas - suffered the loss when Archie was born 18 weeks early in February 2009 and reflected that shortly after what would have been his 15th birthday, he is still very much part of the family even though they "never got to know" him.
She told OK! Magazine: "He’s part of our lives and through all the special moments, we remember and celebrate him. We never got to know what kind of little boy he would have been, but we talk about him.
"My grandchildren talk about him – they know who Archie is and what a significant part of our family he is.
"Polly has only ever known him as her big brother and she’ll often say, ‘I wish he was here, he’d stick up
for me!’ And I tell her, ‘Yes, of course he would.’"
The 'Waterloo Road' star - who played the role of Michelle Connor in ITV's 'Coronation Street' for more than a decade and shortly after losing Archie agreed that her character could also go through the same thing with then-partner Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and their son Ruairi - recalled not being allowed a birth or death certificate, and is very "proud" to have been involved in a campaign to change that in law with the help of Mariposa Trust founders and CEOs Andy and Zoe Clark-Coates MBE.
She said: "I was allowed to cremate him, but I wasn’t allowed a certificate and I couldn’t understand that. Not having a birth or death certificate made it feel like he never existed and like it never happened. Some people might think it’s just a piece of paper and what difference does it make? But it makes all the difference to us because these are our children and they matter to us, they matter to our families and they should matter to the world."
"I was adamant when I did the story for 'Corrie', that it was as real as possible. Then Zoe reached out to me, we had a few conversations and went to see [former Health Secretary] Jeremy Hunt and started the ball rolling.
“But my role has been minimal. It’s Zoe and Andy who have been relentless in their campaign, and to have played even a small part in that feels incredible. I’m super proud."
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