Sarah Parish and James Murray recount Ella-Jayne tragedy and a charity that earned them MBEs

Sarah Parish and James Murray have spoken about how the loss of their daughter Ella-Jayne redirected their lives toward charity, a path that culminated in MBEs in the 2025 New Year Honours. In a joint interview with The Sunday Times, the couple described the early days of grief and the decision to help others. Parish said, 'We lived with the blind hope she would survive; nothing else mattered.'

Ella-Jayne was born five weeks premature in May 2008 and diagnosed with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome after birth. She underwent open-heart surgery at three days old and spent four months in intensive care with her parents by her side. Ella-Jayne died at home in January 2009. James Murray recalled that 'we were cut off at the knees' when she passed away. The loss also strained the couple’s relationship, with both fearing that it would collapse, given that about 75 percent of couples split after the death of a child.

After Ella-Jayne's death, the couple went to Vietnam and Cambodia to volunteer in orphanages with sick children, saying they surrounded themselves with other people’s pain to put their own grief in perspective. Parish explained, 'We surrounded ourselves with other people’s pain to put ours in perspective.' In 2014 they established the charity Imagine This—formerly the Murray Parish Trust—dedicated to supporting the mental wellbeing of seriously ill children and their families across the UK. Their charitable work culminated in MBEs earlier in 2025; Parish called the day 'one of the best days ever' and said it showed the impact Ella-Jayne had.

Ella-Jayne’s death preceded the birth of their daughter Nell, now 15, ten months after her passing. The star has previously revealed she writes a birthday card to Ella-Jayne each year and keeps it as a family keepsake. 'Every year I write her a birthday card and keep it for us,' Parish told OK!, adding that there are both sad and happy days and that the family has much to be thankful for. James has described how fishing helped him cope with the pain of Ella-Jayne's death, saying, 'The pain was unbearable. Therapy wasn't doing it for me; talking to friends didn't help with something that was impossible to comprehend. I stood in the river and began to cast; fishing was the way I coped and where I found Ella-Jayne again.'

The couple went on to welcome Nell ten months after Ella-Jayne’s death, and they say their relationship and careers as actors exist alongside their charity work. Parish has said that the charity work provides balance and purpose, remarking that, 'My job is my holiday and the charity is my job.' The 2025 royal honours underscore the lasting impact Ella-Jayne's short life had on their public work and personal lives.