Trevor Phillips’ eldest daughter dies after long battle with anorexia

The eldest daughter of former broadcaster and politician Trevor Phillips has died after a decades-long battle with anorexia.

Sushila Phillips, 36, passed away “peacefully” in her mother’s arms on Sunday morning, her younger sister Holiday said in a Facebook post.

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Paying tribute to her sister, Holiday wrote: “She was one of the wisest, kindest, strongest and funniest people I knew.

“Eternally compassionate in the face of unspeakable suffering, grateful for the small things every day - the sun on her face and a smile from a stranger, she had the most wicked sense of humour, and she was committed to fighting for justice for people suffering with mental illness.”

Her sister added that her sibling was “the most beautiful soul I ever knew” and was “a best friend and an inspiration”.

Last month, Mr Phillips wrote about his daughter’s 22-year struggle with anorexia in an article for The Timeson the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The journalist said he did not take Meghan Markle’s words on her mental health “lightly”, describing his own family’s experiences of “watching helplessly” as Sushila fought a severe eating disorder.

Hours before he wrote the piece, his eldest daughter had gone to a specialist medical unit “to which she admits herself periodically when the daily struggle against her demons proves just too exhausting”.

“I understand what it is to hear that she may not live long enough to go to university. I have met the girls with whom she shared the hellish wards reserved for the most distressed, and learnt not to look away when she tells me that I’ll never see one of them again because she has taken her own life,” he wrote.

For information and support around eating disorders, visit beateatingdisorders.org.uk or call 0808 801 0677

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