Trinny Woodall on the sudden death of ex-husband Johnny Elichaoff: 'You go through a whole mechanism of feelings'

The presenter's former partner had plunged to his death after falling from the roof of Whiteley’s shopping centre in Bayswater last month

Trinny Woodall and Johnny Elichaoff pictured in 2010 (REX)

Trinny Woodall has spoken for the first time about the death of her ex-husband Johnny Elichaoff – and her plans to make their 11-year-old daughter Lyla’s Christmas as happy as possible.

The presenter, 50, had been separated from the musician, 55, following an amicable divorce in 2009 and she is currently believed to be in a relationship with Charles Saatchi.

However, news that her former partner had plunged to his death after falling from the roof of Whiteley’s shopping centre in Bayswater last month left her “grief stricken”.

Speaking about how she is slowly coming to terms with the family tragedy, she told London Live: “Anyone who has experienced a death, you go through a whole mechanism of feelings, but I think coming up to Christmas it is poignant because Christmas is something quite family-orientated. Even though my daughter’s father and I were separated for a number of years, we were friends. It’s about making it a really great Christmas for my daughter and just making her feel it’s everything she wanted to look forward to.

“I think you can slowly come to terms with it and life moves on… We’re a tiny cog in a very large wheel, you have something that is quite direct personal tragedy but we’re part of this huge picture well.

“It’s about picking up the reins again and moving forward and picking up things I was doing before that event and moving forward with my life…

“For my daughter it’s the same because I didn’t know how quickly I should send her back to school, so I asked her the next few days and after two or three days she said she wanted to go to school tomorrow.

“And normality of things is every good. It’s about asking for help, speaking to professionals who might know about the exact situation and how to deal with it best and making it as easy as I can for her.”

Woodall and Elichaoff were married in Knightsbridge church St Columba's in 1999 ̶ the venue of her parents' wedding, her own christening and the burial place of her grandfather.

Elichaoff, who also has a son called Zak from a previous relationship, found fame as a touring drummer for U2, Siouxsie Sioux and the League of Gentlemen in the Eighties.

In 1984, he left the live circuit to enter the Israeli army, from which he moved into music management.

He later became a life insurance and inheritance tax advisor.