Grieving husband forced to listen on the phone as his wife was stabbed to death ‘pushes himself to the limit’ on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins
Danny Cross's wife Nicola was murdered as she tried to protect her kids from a crazed intruder who had broken into her home in 2015
A GRIEVING husband who was forced to listen on the phone as his wife was stabbed to death in their home is taking part in Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Danny Cross, 40, admits he is “pushing himself to the limit” in the gruelling challenge programme, which began on Sunday.
On September 14, 2015, Danny's wife Nicola Cross, 37, was brutally murdered as she tried to protect her children from a crazed intruder who had broken into their Hemel Hempstead home.
Danny, an IT specialist, was working away in Hull when, during a phone call with Nikki, he heard her desperate fight for life.
When her screams fell silent, Danny heard his five-year-old son wailing beside his mum’s body, pleading for her to wake up. Their young daughter was also in the house at the time.
Danny told The Sun in July: “When we were talking on the phone I heard Nikki gasp in fright after hearing a big bang in the house.
“The kids were in bed but a few seconds later as she was still talking to me she let out the loudest scream ever. Someone was there and I could hear her talking to him.
“‘What do you want? Get out of my home,’ she pleaded.
“I was trying to talk to Nikki while using the hotel phone at the same time to call the police.
“Nikki was crying and trying to calm the man down. I heard her say, ‘Let me help you — you don’t have to do this.’
“After that I heard her screaming and pleading for her life. And then it went silent.
“I knew something terrible had happened. My legs went from underneath me in shock.”
Marcin Porczynski, then 27 and a schizophrenic, broke into the property late at night intending to kidnap her two young children.
Porczynski later pleaded guilty at St Albans crown court to Nikki's manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was ordered to be detained in a secure psychiatric unit for an indefinite period.
Since the horror, Dan and his two children have been trying to rebuild their lives.
He added: “Everything about that night was a horror story. I was unable to protect them when they needed me the most and I fell apart, sobbing and shaking.”
Writing on a Facebook page for Nikki's Wishes, a fund set up by her friends to support her kids, Danny urges followers to watch the new series of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
He wrote: “My physical and mental capacities were pushed to the limit and beyond during this unforgettable experience where I learned so much from real life special forces hero's and formed lifelong friendships with my fellow recruits.
"I hope you all watch and enjoy my suffering for your entertainment and the message comes across about speaking out regarding mental health and recovering from tragic and traumatic circumstances in life. Watch and enjoy. Regards Dan."
In the opening episode, Dan and the other contestants are seen jumping out of a helicopter into a lake.
They have to go on gruelling runs and cross a gorge on a rope.
Their mental toughness is tested to the limit as they are deprived of sleep.
The name for the fund Nikki's Wishes came from a jar Nikki Cross used for writing and storing her wishes.
Romance had blossomed for Danny and Nicola in 2004 when they met and started dating.
They got engaged in 2007 and renovated a run-down house into their dream home.
The birth of their first son made their lives complete in 2009, that was followed by the arrival of their daughter in 2011. They married in 2013.
Last year, Danny posted on Facebook the news that he was training to be a volunteer counsellor with the Homicide Victim Support Service so that he could help other families going through the nightmare of losing someone in violent circumstances.
Writing at the time, he said: "For me it is essential that I use what happened to my family in a positive way to help other families going through the toughest of times. If I can help them to get to the same point I am now, then I will be happy."
In the past he has raised awareness concerning mental health issues arising from the loss of a loved one, and has received the support of James Corden, Rio Ferdinand and One Direction star, Niall Horan.
In an earlier post on Nikki's Wishes, Dan wrote: "There has been a lot of press lately about mental health awareness, especially within men and the armed forces and also, thanks to Rio Ferdinand, a fair bit about how widowed men cope when losing your spouse at an early age and with very young children.
"For us, mental health is at the forefront of pretty much everything surrounding our situation, from the person who murdered Nik, who was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia, to myself and my children, who suffered with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), anxiety and depression both in the immediate aftermath of Nik's death and how evident it still is today particularly within my son and myself.
"Getting professional help for these symptoms is essential and we would not be where we are today without the fantastic counselling we received from Dr Jill Mack from 'Assist Trauma Care' who was assigned to us via the Homicide Victim Support service with whom I am now a volunteer."
Meanwhile, Sun girl Amy Jones was put through her paces by the SAS as she tried out for TV’s toughest show.