Ariana Grande helped ease our pain after daughter’s unbearable death, says dad of Manchester bombing’s youngest victim
ON May 22, 2017, a bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd of young fans leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.
Twenty two people were killed and hundreds more were injured.
Superfan Saffie-Rose Roussos, eight, was the youngest victim to die in the attack – after going with her elder sister Ashlee and mum Lisa to her first ever concert.
As the bomb went off, Saffie’s father Andrew was waiting to pick them up outside with his son Xander.
Saffie lived for an hour before dying as a result of blood loss from leg wounds. Lisa suffered life-threatening injuries and was left in a coma for several weeks.
Dad and Xander were given the use of a bungalow in the hospital grounds while Lisa made her recovery.
New book SAFFIE, by David Collins, tells Andrew and Lisa’s story and the family’s fight for justice.
In exclusive extracts for The Sun, we hear how in the months after the tragedy the family received help from a string of celebrities and even the Royal Family.
- Adapted by Veronica Lorraine from Saffie: The Youngest Victim Of The Manchester Terror Attack And Her Family’s Fight For Justice, by David Collins (Silvertail Books, £12.99) published April 24.
AFTER the bombing, Saffie’s dad Andrew had been living in a bubble created by the hospital, where wife Lisa was being treated and his police liaison officer, Des.
But it had not escaped him how much criticism Ariana Grande had received for going back to the US so soon after the attack.
“It’s not fair,” Andrew told Des one day. “She’s only a young girl. She probably wanted to be with her family, same as the rest of us.”
Des shrugged. “True enough.”
Andrew had an idea. “I’d like to meet her.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I’d like to meet her. I think it’s important.”
Des was an experienced police liaison officer, with many years of service. But arranging a meeting between a family and an international pop star was way out of his comfort zone.
A few days later, Des arrived at the hospital with a large grin on his face. “She wants to meet. Tomorrow.”
Ariana would be arriving at Manchester Airport at 2pm on a private jet.
She would then be driven to the Sedgley Park Centre in Prestwich, where Greater Manchester Police trains its officers.
Des drove Andrew and Xander to the centre. The main building was a grand old Victorian house.
Ariana was late. It was 5.30pm and Lisa would be wondering where Andrew was.
“I need to get back for Lisa,” Andrew said.
“Just give me five minutes,” Des pleaded. “We’re going to blue-light her from the airport.”
Ariana arrived 20 minutes later.
This isn’t your fault, Saffie loved you. And she had the time of her life watching you on stage.
Andrew Roussos on meeting Ariana Grande
Andrew, Xander and Des had to leave the room while the star’s bodyguards carried out a sweep.
When they went back inside, Ariana was sitting on one of the sofas, and Scooter Braun, her manager, was standing nearby.
Scooter was known for discovering Justin Bieber along with other major names in music.
Andrew shook his hand.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Scooter said. Ariana stood up and walked over to Andrew.
She was small and dainty, only 5ft tall, while Andrew was 6ft 2in.
She put her arms around his waist and hugged him. “I’m sorry,” she said, over and over, tears running down her cheeks.
Andrew thought nothing of her celebrity. She was a lost and confused young woman, trying to cope with what happened.
And she didn’t deserve any stick for the Arena bombing.
Andrew took Ariana by the hand and sat down next to her on the sofa, his fatherly instincts taking over.
“This isn’t your fault,” Andrew told her. “Saffie loved you. And she had the time of her life watching you on stage.
“I’m grateful she got to see that before what happened.”
“Thank you,” Ariana said, wiping the tears.
Andrew continued: “You can’t go through life blaming yourself. This wasn’t your fault. And nobody blames you.”
‘That couldn’t have gone any better’
Ariana nodded. Andrew told her about Saffie watching her in Sam & Cat [a US teen sitcom], with the volume turned up to max on the TV.
Ariana grinned. “And who’s this?” she said, looking at Xander, standing close by.
“This is Xander. Saffie’s brother.”
“Hey, Xander.” She stood up and hugged him. “Do you like school? What are you into?”
“Pokémon Go.”
“No way! I love Pokémon Go!”
Xander and Ariana chatted, while Scooter pulled Andrew aside. “This will mean the world to her,” he said quietly.
Andrew nodded.
After a few minutes they said goodbye and got back in the car.
They needed to get back for Lisa. Des turned to Andrew and said: “Absolutely brilliant. That couldn’t have gone any better.”
Andrew felt pleased for doing it. He hoped his words might mean something to the young singer.
But above all, he wanted her to know the Arena attack was not her fault.
COLDPLAY’S VIP TREAT FOR MUM LISA AFTER STEPHEN FRY’S KIND GIFT
ANDREW spent his time going back and forth between the bungalow and the burns unit.
Lisa would remain there until the end of July and was then moved into the bungalow.
Before then, one of the ICU nurses, Lorraine, wanted to do something fun for Lisa which would get her out of the hospital.
Lorraine told Lisa she was going to a Coldplay concert. Lisa said how much she loved Coldplay, and so Lorraine promised to bring her back a programme.
When Lorraine was at the concert, she wrote a note and gave it to a security guard backstage.
She said she was an ICU nurse looking after Lisa Roussos, the mother of Saffie-Rose.
The next day, Lorraine received an email from Coldplay, offering Lisa and her friends a VIP box at their Cardiff concert in July.
The hospital and experts were against the idea.
They didn’t feel Lisa was ready and were worried about infection and her mental health going to another concert venue.
But they were eventually convinced because Lorraine and Jo, a fellow ICU nurse, would be going with her, and it was going to be a private box with special security.
Lorraine even messaged her favourite comedian and writer, Stephen Fry, who had already offered to ferry people to and from the church at the funeral.
This time he provided the family with chauffeur-driven cars and a hotel in Cardiff.
Lisa met Coldplay singer Chris Martin backstage before the show.
He told her the arena attack had affected him deeply, and he was very sorry for what happened to Saffie.
Later that night, he sang Everglow, telling the crowd: “I would just like to say we’ve got Saffie’s family here tonight and they were involved in the Manchester bombing.
“I would like to dedicate this song to Saffie-Rose, the youngest victim.”
The entire audience then switched on the lights on their mobile phones and waved them from side to side in tribute.
Coldplay fans say the song makes them think of family members they have loved and lost. The lyrics include:
But when I’m cold, cold
In water rolled, salt
I know you’re always with me and the way you will show
And you’re with me wherever I go
And you give me this feelin’, this everglow . . .
Charles’s heartfelt letter so touching
LISA was finding her recovery hard and was taking a lot of painkillers to cope.
She had a bottle of morphine which she sipped on constantly, as if it was a can of Coca-Cola.
How had their lives come to this, Andrew thought.
Not that long ago he was working in a fish and chip shop in Leyland, Lancs, and life was straightforward.
Now he was living in a bungalow with son Xander in the hospital grounds while Lisa recovered.
During that time he did interviews with Radio 4 and received letters from prominent figures.
He wanted his old life back. More than anything. But that wasn’t going to happen.
He opened one letter he had been sent. At the top were the words “Highgrove House”, the private residence of the then Prince Charles.
Andrew was amazed. It was a genuine, heartfelt letter from the future king — completely different to the almost robotic letters which had come from Downing Street.
Charles and his wife Camilla wanted them to know “how deeply we feel for you and your poor family”, and shared a personal memory about their own experience with loss.
Charles’s family, too, had been victims of terrorism, and he had recognised a shared bond.
Charles wrote about Lord Mountbatten, his great uncle, who had been blown up in an IRA terrorist attack.
“Therefore, I can at least understand something of what you are going through and my heart goes out to you more than you can possibly realise.
“Above all, we wanted to assure you that you and your family are so much in our special thoughts and prayers at such a very difficult and utterly devastating time.”
Andrew showed the letter to Lisa.
They were both moved that Charles had set aside the time to write it, and astonished and touched by how personal it was.
Are you our 2025 winner?
By Caroline Iggulden Associate Editor
FOR the second year running we want to use our Saffie’s Smile Award to celebrate a young person who has gone above and beyond for others or shown great resilience in the face of adversity.
Do you know a caring kid aged 16 or under who perhaps has done something amazing for their community, or arranged a special surprise for friends and family?
Maybe they have raised funds for a good cause or pulled off an impressive feat to bring joy to their schoolmates?
We launched Saffie’s Smile Award last year, by flying the Roussos family to New York – where they had enjoyed a memorable trip with Saffie a year before she lost her life.
There, we arranged for her image to be beamed out from a billboard in Times Square on July 4, to mark what would have been her 16th birthday.
The inaugural honour was won by 16-year-old Ruby Reid, who also happened to share the same birthday as Saffie’s.
Ruby, from St Blazey, Cornwall, acts as a carer for her mother who has a long-term health condition.
She has also overcome bullying at school and struggled with depression. But with the help of therapy Ruby turned her life around and is now studying for a diploma in animal care.
Today, together with Andrew and Lisa, we are launching the award for a second year and want to hear more stories of selflessness.
Our star winner will get an amazing family holiday for four worth up to £5,000 courtesy of On The Beach, and three runners-up will each receive VIP Merlin theme park experiences.
To tell us about someone special who is worthy of the Saffie’s Smile Award, go to thesun.co.uk/saffie. Entries close on May 26.
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