Carol Vorderman has two siblings, but over the weekend she opened up about her brother Anton and spoke candidly about his tough childhood and how it inspired him to help countless people in his life.
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The former Countdown star shared a moving video of a man, Jonathan, speaking out about his condition, Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), a rare genetic disorder characterised by distinctive abnormalities of the head and face, and went on to reveal what connection that story had to her brother Anton.
WATCH: Carol gets emotional speaking about her brother Anton
"Jonathan's story is significant to me and my family because of my brother," she began telling her followers on Instagram.
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"My brother was born in the 1950s with severe cleft lip and palate and over the course of his life had 24 operations on his face.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCarol with her brother Anton and their mother in 2004
"He was eight years older than me and didn't like to go out because of how he looked, I called him 'my little daddy' because our father had abandoned me, not my brother or sister, he refused to meet me from when I was two weeks old, I don't know why, still to this day."
She added: "We were very poor, he was always kind and yet he suffered a lot of abuse because of how he looked and he grew and still is one of the kindest, most generous, funny, loving, successful people I've ever known. He is always laughing, he loves people, everybody loves my brother and I suppose the reason I am telling you this, I've been a patron of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association for 20 years and it's not the same in Eastern Europe.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAnton has saved many babies through his charity
"A number of years ago he found that in Romania, Bulgaria, when babies are born with cleft they are often taken from their mothers and taken to orphanages and that was because they couldn't suck and feed. And there's a special way of feeding babies with severe cleft palate. So he set up a charity to train specialists who would then train the mothers."
Getting emotional, she continued: "In the first years they managed to get over 40 babies out of orphanages and back with their mums. It makes me cry."
She then said with her voice breaking: "And THAT is my brother. Born with cleft, 24 operations, suffered because of how he looks and yet he's helped many others. He's WONDERFUL."
