Victoria Derbyshire, 56, says ‘bully’ father ‘strangled’ and ‘pulled her out of bed’ as she bravely shares abuse ordeal
Victoria Derbyshire has candidly opened up about her “bully” father and the abuse she endured during her childhood, noting her father “strangled” her, amongst other forms of abuse.
The star – best known for her BBC morning news and self-titled current affairs programme – opened up about the events that would often occur in her childhood home.
Derbyshire and her two siblings, brother Nick and sister Alex, lived at home when they were young with both their mother and father.
During her emotional interview, Derbyshire admitted that when they heard the key go in the door, they would all “scatter” in fear of their father coming home.
She explained: “My childhood was very tense a lot of the time because I had a father who was a bully and violent, and mean, and not like a father or a parent should be.
“Luckily, I have an amazing mum, and she was there looking after us, giving us unconditional love. He would put his key in the door when he was coming in from work, and we would all scatter because we just didn’t want to be around.
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“We were walking on eggshells as we knew he would probably start an argument, or he would be shouting to cause tension.”
Touching on the physical abuse, she admitted: “On occasion, he would put his hands around my throat. He would drag me out of bed in the middle of the night and shout at me.
“Obviously, I knew that was not normal because I have friends with fathers who were not like that, but it was relatively normal in our household.”
She went on to admit that whilst her mother was often there to support the children, she did not feel she received any other support from appropriate services.
“I didn’t tell a teacher, and not because of shame, it was just that this was the way it is in our house… I’ve got some of my mum’s doctors’ notes [from back then].
“She went to the doctors with a broken rib, and it says in the doctor’s notes ‘husband trouble’, and that was of the time… nobody did anything!”
Derbyshire explained to the Loose Women panel that there was a time her father was hitting her mother, but the phone line had been cut off due to insufficient bills being paid, as a way to isolate the family.
“I had to run to the police station, which was about two miles away, and I was about 13 or 14ish. It took them two hours to come.
“And when they came, they knocked at the door, they were invited in for a cup of tea by my father, and they never spoke to my mum. When you think back, it’s unreal.”
Coleen Nolan asked at what point it all came to an end, to which Derbyshire revealed: “My mother and father got divorced when I was 16, and honestly, that was liberation!
“It was an incredible feeling… She fell in love with someone else, and thank god she did. Together, we saved each other. Certainly, as I was growing up, I was trying to stand up to him more.
“I could never match him physically, but I would not react in a situation where I knew he would want me to react. She met another man who became my step-dad, and they got married, and he was like a proper father.”
Derbyshire added that she made no secret of hiding her father’s behaviour from her son’s and explained the reasons why they never saw him before he died.
“They are very aware of what domestic abuse is and what coercive control is.”