Irish TV star was covered in rubble after horrifying bomb blast during the Troubles

TV star Christine Lampard has spoken about the horrifying moment that she was covered in rubble following a bomb blast.

It happened when a car bomb detonated about a mile away from her when she was growing up during the Troubles.

The presenter, who is married to football star Frank Lampard, grew up as Christine Bleakley in Newtownards in Co Down.

She was only 14 at the time of the incident and now says that she spent much of her formative years living in fear for herself and her loved ones.

Lampard told Closer Magazine: “One of my earliest memories is being scooped out of the bath by my mum because soldiers were at the door saying there was a bomb.

“When I was 14, I was playing outside when a car bomb went off about a mile away and I was covered in rubble. It ripped the heart out of the community, it was devastating.

“My life was shaped by (the Troubles) and it makes me so aware of how lucky I am to have what I have.”

Lampard also spoke of how she feared for her father’s safety when she was growing up, and would pray while he was out of the house.

She said: “I had panic attacks as a child and couldn’t sleep until Dad came home. My father was a drummer in a band.

“He was managed by Louis Walsh, who I knew growing up. But his work was mainly playing in pubs and back then, pubs were a big target for the IRA.

“I’d wait at the window and pray for the phone not to ring with someone saying there’d been an accident.

“My mum would always be calm and tell me, ‘Life is life and our job is to make the best of it.’”

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