Martin Lewis said he was a 'broken, scared boy'. Read more on Grazia.
Martin Lewis has opened up about losing his mother as a child, while accepting the Special Award at the 2026 TV BAFTAs. Lewis’s work on Money Saving Expert was recognised by BAFTA because of his ‘extraordinary and lasting impact on British consumers and public life’.
Lewis told the room that he wrote his speech on Thursday, exactly 42 years after his mother’s sudden death shortly before his 12th birthday.
'For six years, barring school, I barely left the house. Now I’m picking up a Bafta.
'For all those of you out there struggling with your own demons, know this: life can be transformed, it can get better. 'If you had told that broken, scared boy that I’d proudly be a campaigning journalist, his jaw would have dropped. So I dedicate this to consumer journalism, where I found my fire.
”Lewis is a consumer journalist by trade, best known for founding the personal-finance website MoneySavingExpert, which made him a household name by translating complex money matters into practical, jargon-free guidance. He first became widely notable in the mid‑2000s as MoneySavingExpert grew rapidly online and he appeared frequently across UK television and radio explaining how to cut costs and challenge unfair practices; over time, that advice role expanded into high-profile campaigning on issues such as bank charges, energy bills and financial harms.
‘We have to protect people,’ he told The Guardian in 2025. ‘We have to protect people who can’t protect themselves, and we sometimes have to protect people from themselves within the mental health world. ’ Georgia Aspinall is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor at Grazia UK. As well as co-ordinating news and features for both digital and print, she is responsible for Grazia's campaigning efforts.
Georgia has a vast knowledge of digital journalism and SEO best practice, covering women's interest stories across politics, health, dating, travel and pop culture.
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