Graeme Souness appeared visibly moved on Wednesday morning as he spoke about a condition he has described as “as bad as it gets,” while sitting beside a 13-year-old girl who lives with it every day.
The former Liverpool and Scotland captain joined Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain to raise awareness of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin disorder that causes constant blistering, tearing and pain, and for which he is now a leading campaigner through the charity DEBRA.
Souness sat alongside 13-year-old Jasmine Ritchie, who lives with the condition, and her mother Anna, who has recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for research and support.
The cameras showed the teenager’s hands bandaged and her movements cautious. The conversation, already sombre, took an emotional turn as Souness explained why he has committed himself to supporting families affected.
“There’s lots of terrible, terrible conditions and diseases out there but I believe EB is as bad as it gets,” he said.
“Jasmine’s born with this condition and I believe every day of her life is an uphill struggle. Every day is Groundhog Day, every day is filled with pain and itches. There’s no respite from it.”
Souness paused, fighting back tears, as he recalled a moment before the broadcast.
Graeme Souness was emotional during the ITV interview
|ITV
“Her hair looks beautiful today and in makeup before the show they were doing her ponytail but her mum Anna forgot to tell them that she’s got wounds on her head,” he continued.
“I was standing next to Anna and she burst into tears. I thought, ‘What’s happened?’ But Jasmine didn’t complain.”
The 72-year-old then spoke about the strength he has witnessed in children living with EB.
Graeme Souness spoke glowingly of Jasmine amid her ongoing battle with the skin condition
|ITV
“I come from a world of winners and people who never back off anything. But on a scale of courage and being a winner, footballers are a one out of 10. These young people are a 10 out of 10,” he said.
Often referred to as “butterfly skin,” EB leaves the skin so fragile that even the slightest friction can cause severe damage.
Walking, showering, eating or being helped into clothes can tear the skin and trigger intense pain. Many children require daily bandaging, creams and strong painkillers.
This was not Souness’s first time discussing EB on national television. Two years ago, he appeared to support Scottish teenager Isla Grist, who also lives with the condition.
Writing afterward, Souness called EB “the cruellest” illness he had ever encountered.
Graeme Souness is no longer a regular football pundit
| PAHe described Isla’s daily routine of changing dressings and taking powerful medication to manage pain and wrote of the heartbreak of speaking with her father “as two fathers” about wanting simply to make life “that bit better.”
Despite his long football career, Souness said nothing has affected him in the same way as meeting young people with EB.
As vice president of DEBRA, he has helped raise millions of pounds for research and care. His fundraising challenges have included two attempts to swim the English Channel, covering 21 miles each time. His first crossing in 2023 raised more than £1.5 million alone.
Souness ended his appearance by urging greater government support for treatment and research. For Jasmine, for Isla, and for hundreds of families like theirs, he said, improved funding “cannot come soon enough.”