Amy Winehouse's mum felt 'disbelief' when she was told star had died

Amy Winehouse’s mum has revealed she felt "disbelief" when she was told that her daughter had died.

The Rehab singer was found dead in July 2011 aged 27, and an inquest later found that she had died of alcohol poisoning.

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, her mum Janis Winehouse-Collins recalled the moment she was told that Amy had passed away. She also shared that her last words to the pop star were “I love you.”

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Janis’s husband Richard Collins told host Lorraine Kelly: “It was the worst day of my life. I got the phone call to say that Amy had gone. It was actually her cousin, Martin that phoned. I said, ‘Don’t be silly, we were with her yesterday.’ And he said, ‘No, I’m being absolutely serious.’

“And then I had to tell Janis.

"I said, ‘Janis, I don’t know what to say, she’s gone.’ She looked at me and she thought I was talking about my mum, because my mum died a month after Amy - my mum was seriously ill.”

“She said, ‘It’s just your mum,’ and I said, ‘No, no. Your baby, she’s really gone.’ And Jan just stood there.”

Janis added: “It took time for me, disbelief.”

Discussing whether she can watch recordings of the singer’s performances, Janis said: “Oh yes… She’s here, always. She’s with me, I’ve got that sense.”

She also recalled her last exchange with the Valerie star.

“I remember exactly,” she told Kelly. “I said to her, ‘Amy I love you’ and she said, ‘I love you too mummy.’ But that’s how we were and I could express my love to her, always. She was very protective of me.”

The pair also talked about the late star’s well-documented substance abuse problems.

Richard said: “She [Amy] did try, it's a misrepresentation. The family bent over backwards, but what people seem to forget is that she was a married woman, she was 27, she was living independently, she was wealthy. People tried to help her, from her management to Mitch (the singer’s father) to Janis, the family.

“Amy did what Amy wanted to do and that was the bottom line of it. People think she was a very weak character, but she wasn’t. Far from it.

"She was very, very strong.”

Read more: Amy Winehouse's family to auction some of her most famous clothes for charity

The couple were speaking ahead of the 10th anniversary of Amy’s death.

Janis is to share her own account of her daughter's rise to stardom and battle with alcohol in upcoming BBC2 documentary Amy Winehouse: 10 Years On.

For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.

Lorraine airs on weekdays at 9am on ITV and ITV Hub.

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