I was plagued by terrifying panic attacks and couldn’t leave the house, says Dame Debs’ mum as she opens up on her grief

HEATHER JAMES is no stranger to grief.

At 21, she watched her dad Arthur die of a massive heart attack, despite calling the doctor when he complained of indigestion after picking apples from a tree with her.

Stewart WilliamsChristmas loving Deborah James died of bowel cancer in 2022[/caption] SuppliedThis is the family’s first Christmas together without Dame Deborah[/caption]

As a 44-year-old she lost her niece Vicky in a car accident a week before her 18th birthday, her sister Susan...