2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley speaks about his grief after father 'died on the spot'
ITV star Richard Madeley recalled the difficult time in his life.
Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid were back on screens presenting Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning. The pair were delivering the headlines and news updates to ITV viewers at home.
During the morning programme they were also joined by Emmerdale's Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle, where they had a heartfelt conversation. Lisa spoke about her character Mandy's current storylines but also touched on her personal battles with loss, mentioning the passing of both her mother and her former Strictly Come Dancing partner Robin Windsor.
The conversation sparked Richard to share his own heartbreaking memory of his dad's sudden death back in 1977. He sadly passed away just days after he married first wife, Lynda Hooley.
Richard looked back at that time in his life and said: "I remember when my father died. He died on the spot, had a heart attack when he was 49. Huge shock. I was a breakfast producer then, a radio producer."
He then recalled the difficult period following his father's death: "I remember I had a week off to come to terms with it. After the funeral, I went in, and the guy that I worked with didn't say a word. He didn't say, 'how are you, or what happened', he obviously felt it was best not to talk about it."
He continued, expressing understanding yet disagreement with his colleague's reaction: "I don't blame him for that. He couldn't have been more wrong. You want people to come up to you and talk to you. You need that trigger to talk."
Previously, Richard opened up on the negative impact of smoking on his family, stating on the Dr Hilary Show podcast: "I think what gave my grandfather, uncle and father their heart attacks, and the one that killed my father, as I said they were heavy smokers."
He disclosed a shocking detail about his dad: "My dad, at one stage, was on two packs a day and he died at 49."
Elsewhere on the programme Richard Arnold joined the panel to offer the latest scoops in showbiz and television.
During his segment, Richard paid homage to the legendary musician Brian Wilson following the announcement of his passing on Wednesday, June 11.
Brian was a founding member of the iconic Beach Boys. The lead singer and co-founder of the band died at the age of 82, with his cause of death yet to be disclosed.
"A real pop pioneer. He co-founded one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, the Beach Boys, rivalling The Beatles," Richard shared with his audience.
He also reminisced about his own discovery of the Beach Boys back in the 1970s, admitting he played their records "constantly" and was "very much a Beach Boys fan".
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