Mum says memories of late son keeps her 'brave'

A mother of a boy who died four years ago says she still watches old videos of him to remind her to be brave.

Julian "Jools" Sweeney, from Gloucestershire, died in April 2022. Later that year, a 23-minute inquest into his death recorded a narrative conclusion and ruled out suicide.

His mother, Ellen Roome, says her son's death was caused by an online challenge gone wrong and has successfully fought to have the inquest reopened.

Roome still rewatches a video Jools sent while she was climbing Kilimanjaro, in which he told her to "stay strong and be brave", as motivation to continue her campaign work.

She told former This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby: "Jools was the most beautiful, happy boy.

"There are days that getting out of bed is hard and you just think, 'What am I getting up for?' And I would watch that video and go, 'Right, Jools, off we go'.

"When I was really campaigning hard, I'd walk past the stairs and go, 'come on Jools, got stuff to do', as if he's still alive. Taking him with me."

Speaking in an upcoming episode from her YouTube series Together, Willoughby spoke to Roome, who lives in Cheltenham, about how she has become a leading figure in the campaign to ban social media use for children in Britain since Jools' death.

She has also campaigned to get an amendment to the law that would force social media companies to give parents access to their child's data in the event of their death.

When asked by Willoughby if her son would be proud of her work, Roome said yes.

Willoughby added: "We just had a little break recording, and you just said something, and I've been really trying to hold it together, and that just really got me.

"You were saying that you know deep down that he'd be proud of you."

The pair spoke just two weeks after the High Court quashed the senior coroner's conclusion after a legal challenge from Roome.

Speaking at the time, Roome said: "We hope this is a turning point, not only in finding the truth about Jools, but in making the online world safer for every child."

Roome's interview with Willoughby will be available on YouTube and other digital streaming platforms on 4 August.

The new podcast marks Willoughby's return to screen following her departure from This Morning after 14 years fronting the show.

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