Greg Wise: 'If you can't laugh at death, what can you laugh at?'

GREG WISE JOINS THE LOOSE WOMEN TO EXPLAIN WHY HE THINKS WE NEED TO BE MORE HONEST AND OPEN ABOUT DEATH.

The Crown actor Greg Wise joined Coleen, Stacey, Jane and guest Loose Woman Anna Richardson to talk about his experience of caring for his beloved sister Clare at the end of her life following a long battle with cancer.

Greg had been the one to take Clare to hospital appointments, and would even shower with his sibling to help her wash. But even though things got bad, he said he didn't realise how close she was to death until a doctor told him he had 'no idea' how she was still holding on.

Greg, who is married to fellow actor Emma Thompson, said: 'We got to the last night which was bouncy and horrible and she was slipping in quite a deep sleep at the time, but obviously she could still hear me.

'I think as is the case with a lot of people on their deathbed they have to be given permission to let go. It was absolutely extraordinary because Claire was so not in the building at that time, I was able to say: ''Come on, we've done so well it's now beyond both of us.'''

Now, Greg is telling his story in a book co-written with his sister, Not That Kind of Love, and encouraging others to open up about death. He says: 'We are all going to die. This wonderful palliative consultant gave me this fantastic line 'There's two days in our lives that are under 24 hours, the day we're born and the day we're die.' We fixate over the first day, we spend so much time and effort and energy on sharing that news and absolutely nothing on the other day that's shorter than 24 hours. I think we have to use that commitment for birth for the other end of your life, it doesn't matter when it is, because it's going to hit us all.'

WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH GREG.