Strictly star’s daughter, 3, rushed to hospital with breathing condition

Greg Rutherford’s daughter Daphne, 3, was rushed to hospital with croup on Monday after she was struggling to breathe.

His fiancée Susie Verrill took to Instagram with the distressing news, but assured followers she is recovering well after taking steroids.

The Olympian, 37 – currently on a cruise around Greece and Turkey – also shares Milo, nine, Rex, six, with Susie, who updated followers on her daughter’s condition from the hospital bed.

Sharing a picture of her daughter in hospital, Susie wrote: ‘So glad I decided to bring her to hospital because she was NOT good.’

‘What a difference some steroids make,’ she added.

Susie said she felt guilty for not taking Daphne to the hospital sooner, explaining that she and Greg are ‘pretty experienced’ in dealing with croup- a respiratory problem common in young children.

She said: ‘Thanks for all your kind messages, I’ve got huge guilt for not taking her in sooner.

‘We’re pretty experienced with croup and aside from once with Milo, it’s always sorted itself out with cold air, drinks and keeping them calm.

‘When I took her in this morning they heard her breathe & rushed us straight through to have steroids because her nostrils were flaring and throat was tugging.

‘Because she’d been so calm and chatty with me I didn’t really panic too much initially.’ 

Croup is a common condition mainly affecting children and babies that are identifiable by a barking cough, hoarse voice, rasping breath and difficulty breathing.

Strictly star Greg – who appeared on the show in 2016 – has endured several scares over the last few years in regards to his own health and his family’s.

In June the former track and field athlete took to social media to reveal ‘one of the most terrifying’ and ‘harrowing’ moments of his life when his glass skylight exploded at home, narrowly missing his son Milo.

‘One of our skylights up here just exploded. I was literally standing in the kitchen, watching the TV on the wall, and it just went bang. Glass went everywhere,’ he recalled.

He said: ‘Kid you not, two minutes before, Milo was down here doing some school work. I said, “It’s a nice day, go out on the deck, mate.” And thank God I did that because if not, I can’t even imagine what could have happened.’

In a follow-up post, Rutherford said he was ‘still shaking’ as he dealt with the broken glass covering his living room.

Greg shared pictures of the dramatic scene, which saw broken glass strewn all over the sofa where he said his kids were sitting just before.

This came after Greg was forced to withdraw from Dancing On Ice’s 2024 final due to a severe injury sustained during rehearsals.

Later describing the injury on social media, Greg said he ‘effectively gave [himself] a C-section’ while attempting a daring move on the ice.

The former Olympian shared images of his scars, highlighting the severity of the mishap. ‘It was a freak accident. I was trying to leap through the legs of two professional ice skaters during our routine and ended up severely injuring myself,’ he explained.

Greg and blogger Susie met in 2012 and became engaged in 2019; they were due to marry in May 2023, but tragically postponed the big day after the death of a loved one.

He explained in an Instagram post with a snap of her diamond ring: ‘Today was meant to be our wedding day… Due to the loss of someone so close and important we postponed the big day – In typical fashion the UK weather is going to be perfect we’re a bit miffed.’

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