Jess Wright on devastating diagnosis for son, 2

Jessica Wright and her husband William Lee-Kemp have revealed their heartbreak after discovering their two-year-old son, Presley, is suffering from a rare condition that will require him to undergo open heart surgery.

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"The world just stopped moving for me," says Jessica, 39, recalling the devastating moment last year when she was told Presley has a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart disease that affects 1% of people.

As she speaks, days ahead of hosting her first Have A Heart Gala, which took place on Thursday and raised money for children’s cardiac and respiratory care charity The Brompton Fountain, it is clear the past year has taken its toll.

"It's been tough," she says, before talking us through Presley's diagnosis.

"Just before his second birthday, we took him for a routine appointment about what we thought was a chest infection and the doctors said they had found a heart murmur.

"They said it was likely to be nothing to worry about, and common in a lot of children, but to get it checked anyway."

Jessica says that around a month later, in a follow-up appointment, their worst fears were confirmed.

"We just sat there and you could see from the doctor's face that he was about to tell us something really big and life-changing.

"I just dreaded what was going to come out of his mouth, and then, lo and behold, the words 'open heart surgery' came out. It was extremely tough and something that we're still taking our time to get over and used to - I'm not sure we ever will.

"I just remember sitting in between my mum and my husband and thinking, 'I'm going to fall on the floor'. I couldn't even kind of hold myself up."