The partner of Hollyoaks star, Frankie Jules-Hough, says his "life is destroyed" after losing the mum-to-be in a horror car crash.
In heartbreaking news, the actress, 38, who played Jess Holt in the Channel 4 show from November 2000 to April 2001, and the couple's unborn baby girl, Neeve, were killed in a collision on the M66 last year.
Adil Iqbal was driving with one hand and filming with the other at a speed of 123mph before the crash. He was initially sentenced for 12 years, before the sentence was extended to 15 years. Last year, three appeal judges in London increased Iqbal’s jail term to 15 years after concluding the original sentence was unduly lenient.
Frankie's devastated partner, Calvin, is now determined to raise awareness about the dangers of using mobile phones while driving as he threw his support behind the newly launched 'Touch Screen' campaign, which kicked off on 7 May.
Reflecting on his tragic loss, he said: "Two people lost their lives as a result of someone using their phone while driving, and to put it simply my life was destroyed. I lost my partner and the chance to become a father, but it has also affected many other people and the effects of this incident will stay with us for the rest of our lives."
He continued, "My life was completely shattered in a moment and now I'm trying to rebuild my life and make something positive out of it by supporting this campaign and the vision zero strategy," reports OK! magazine.
The 'Touch Screen' campaign, launched by Safer Roads Greater Manchester, is driven by the 'vision zero strategy', which aims to stop all fatalities and serious injuries on Greater Manchester's roads by the year 2040.
The campaign's videos feature three drivers who get dangerously distracted as they use their mobile phones to take calls, text, switch tunes or check maps while driving. In the initiative's radio advert Calvin pleads with drivers as he issues a stark warning about the dangers of driving while distracted.
In an emotional delivery, he says: "It's become quite common for people to use their phone to check messages, send photos or change the music while driving. The use of mobile phones in our society has grown, and for some people it's all they've ever known."
In October, Calvin said he was "shocked" by Iqbal's initial sentence, saying his family felt the criminal should have been handed a life sentence. In 2022, judges were told they could hand out a life sentence as the maximum penalty to those found guilty of death by dangerous driving – the previous maximum sentence was 14 years.
"I was shocked and I was also angry and very disappointed," he told Good Morning Britain. "We felt we had been let down by the justice system. It was really difficult for us as a family to move on and grieve because of the injustice."
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