‘It was hard’

Hannah Hampton had fans rallying around after she revealed she is set to attend a family funeral just days after the Lionesses’ win.

At the weekend, the Lionesses retained their European crowns as they beat Spain on penalties. However, shortly after Hannah shared that her beloved grandfather died a few days before the Euro’s 2025 began.

And on Thursday (July 31) Hannah appeared on GMB in her first live TV interview since the Lionesses’ winning moment. But things took an emotional turn when she opened up about her late grandad.

The goalkeeper’s grandfather sadly died (Credit: ITV)

Hannah Hampton on grandfather’s death

Hannah appeared on GMB this week and chatted to hosts Ed Balls and Kate Garraway.

Talking about the epic penalty shootouts in this year’s tournament, Hannah said: “Sometimes I say I don’t like it and sometimes I say I love it. I think the two penalty shootouts we had, I probably didn’t like it. We made it hard for ourselves, let’s be honest.

“I thought I’ve got to do my bit for the team and save a couple, but the first one against Sweden, it kept going on and on and on – we probably gave half the nation a heart attack.”

Hannah shared that she’s set to attend the funeral this week (Credit: ITV)

Hannah reveals ‘it was hard’

Hannah then spoke about her beloved grandfather – who sadly did not live to see Hannah fulfil their shared dream of her playing England.

She said: “I remember speaking to him so many times about what we wanted to achieve as a group, and how proud he was.

“All of the time he wanted to come to my football games or watch it on the TV. He would be on the phone straight after. It was hard at the beginning. The girls helped me so much to get through it, and it was hard after games when you wanted to call home and wouldn’t hear his voice.”

Hannah reveals grandad’s funeral date

Hannah added: “My whole point was to not put it out for sympathy. People don’t realise what goes on in people’s lives, so I don’t want people to keep giving all the hate comments and the abuse.

“You don’t know if people are already at a low point, and having that extra bit of fuel isn’t going to help them. People are entitled to their opinions, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a way that you can go about them in a nicer way.”

Ed then quizzed her: “And the funeral is tomorrow?”

Hannah replied: “Yeah. I’ll head back up to the Midlands this afternoon and be with family at the time for all of us to be together.”

Viewers watching GMB were quick to support Hannah and praise her for her achievements.

“What a lovely modest person Hannah Hampton is, hardest job in football,” said one person.

Someone else praised her: “Great to see Hannah Hampton on #gmb this morning.” A third chimed in: “Hannah Hampton definitely deserves to be recognised by the Palace!”