Radio 1 Breakfast DJ Greg James has pressed on with his 1000km Comic Relief challenge, but got emotional towards the end of the second day over his beloved dad, who is currently in intensive care
BBC star Greg James sobbed as he completed the second day of his eight-day 1000km Comic Relief cycle, after visiting his beloved dad Alan in intensive care following heart surgery complications. The Radio 1 Breakfast host kicked off his punishing challenge in Weymouth, Dorset, as he makes his way up to Edinburgh.
But the 40-year-old was dealt a devastating blow when his dad suffered a stroke during a planned operation on his heart. Despite his dad’s condition, Greg knew he was in good hands with his medical team, and decided to push on with his cycle while Alan was recovering in hospital.
As he made his way to the end of the second day of the challenge, he revealed he was overcome with emotion as he thought about his dad’s health. He said: “I feel elated. I feel a bit overwhelmed by all these people who just turned up out of nowhere.
“I just burst into tears as I was going up to Blaenavon. It was all a bit much. And then I think Sam and Danny were playing Aperture, and it just got a bit much for me.
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“Just thought about… I just thought about everything. Just thought about my dad, thought about my mum.
“It got way too much. It’s so silly. It must have been the altitude.”
Greg, who is married to journalist and author Bella Mackie, admitted he felt sentimental and immensely grateful for all his family, as he pushed himself to complete the task at hand. He explained: “And then someone gave me a Wales flag and I was holding that and I thought about my old nan, and she’s Welsh.
“And then I just thought about everything and then everything just made me cry, and I just felt really overwhelmed by it all. But the day is done, and I actually can’t believe I’ve managed to get to Abergavenny.”
Greg gave his mum an emotional hug at the end of the day’s route. He had cancelled his Friday show to be with his loved ones after he found out about what had happened to his dad.
He was back on the airwaves on Monday, confirming “Big Al” was “still with us”. Speaking on his show, he said: “Thank you to Sam and Danni for Friday, as there was a slight mishap with my dad.
“My dad’s not very well at the minute. I know that he would want me to get back on the show. And he’s still with us, which is good!”
Speaking previously about his challenge, he shared on his Instagram account: “Here’s a video which is more serious than I like to be on here, but I just wanted to update you on what’s [been] going on the last few days of my life. I’ve had a terrible time.
“My dad’s not very well. Not very well at all. And it’s horrible.
“You might have heard Sam and Danni talk about this on the Breakfast Show on Friday, because I wasn’t there. They were very lovely about it; they told lots of you, and thank you for sending me a message if you did. It’s massively appreciated.”
He added: “In times like these, it’s so nice to feel the love from people. And for those that don’t know what’s happened to my dad, I’m sorry that you’re finding out on my wildly popular social media channels.
“He was supposed to go, well, he did go in for heart surgery on Thursday, and I was on the Breakfast Show on Thursday because I thought, ‘That’s a good distraction’.
“I’m always banging on about how great radio is at distracting you from your life and things going to s***. It’s good for listeners, and it’s good for the people doing it as well. So, I was happy on Thursday. I thought, ‘That’s the best place for me’. I love doing that.
“And then on Thursday night, we found out that, sadly, the operation didn’t go to plan, and he had a stroke. Which is really s***.”
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