A LETTER TO THE ONLY DAD I NEED

Suzanne Samaka, 35, didn't realise just how important her stepdad was in shaping her life

- SARAH WHITELEY

Dear Dave,

Looking back now, it feels like you've been in my life forever. But actually, I was an outspoken, cheeky 14-year-old when you and my mum Carol first got together.

You seemed nice enough and you certainly made Mum happy, but I never thought I needed you, or indeed any father figure, in my life.

Mum and my biological dad had broken up when I was five. He worked a lot, so I don't have too many memories of him, even when he did live with us.

We moved away to Hertfordshire, and although my brother and I visited for weekends at first, eventually our relationship fizzled out.

If I'm being truthful, I didn't really care. Mum was incredible, two parents in one - if not more! She worked two jobs to provide for us but if she was ever stressed about making ends meet, she never let us know anything about it.

Instead, she made life fun, taking us to the beach in the summer, leading us on intrepid adventures through the sand dunes. She was always hands-on too. Ta da!' she announced, as she led me into my bedroom one afternoon when I was nine years old. I gasped in delight she'd decorated it all in a 101 Dalmatians theme, complete with black paw prints on the radiator!

I adored her. Who needed a dad? I certainly didn't. I even told a teacher that once, after I'd been kept behind after class for being naughty. You need to start pulling your socks up,' she'd warned. Although, it probably doesn't matter anyway, what with you coming from a single-parent family.'