Gethin Jones in tears as he thanks Helen Skelton for support in toughest of times
Gethin Jones was overcome with emotion as he thanked his Morning Live co-host Helen Skelton for her support during their 24-hour roller-skating challenge for Comic Relief.
Gethin Jones was visibly moved on BBC's Morning Live as he thanked his co-star Helen Skelton following their 24-hour skating challenge.
The pair completed the task during Friday's show and later discussed the Wheely Big Challenge with presenters Sara Cox and Kimberley Walsh. The challenge had, at that point, raised over £700k for Comic Relief.
Dressed in his skating attire and clearly exhausted, Gethin, who had taken a tumble just an hour before the end of the challenge, struggled to hold back tears as he expressed his gratitude to Helen for her support.
Recounting his experience, Gethin admitted: "I was really relieved at the end because within an hour and 20 to go when I had that fall it was so weird I just went and got a drink and lost my concentration basically and it really hurt and I've had a bulging disc problem for a while and anyone who's had that will know you can't actually move."
Becoming emotional, he continued: "And actually three hours in I felt it go and I was so worried that I might have to stop at that point. I just didn't want to fail and I wanted to do it together and then it became really hard, it was really painful - sorry it's a bit emotional but I did this two years ago and I've seen where the money goes, the lives it changes," reports Surrey Live.
Turning to Helen, he warmly stated: "You were amazing, you were incredible. She was just getting me through."
In reply, Helen, offering reassurance by holding his arm, said: "It's a team, it's a big team."
Helen shared details of her experience during the roller-skating marathon, revealing to Gethin that she felt she had peaked too soon. Recounting their conversation, she said: "I said to him (Gethin) at one point, 'how are we still here we've got eight hours left to go?'".
They were joined by various celebrities throughout the event, including Dr Ranj and Kimberley, with Helen recalling a slip-up: "I tried so hard to stay up but, like you say, if you lose a bit of concentration or get excited you're gone."
She also discussed the strangeness of the situation, reflecting on how bizarre it was to be going around in circles for 24 hours in a windowless room: "We were going around in a circle for 24 hours in a windowless room, we were quite delirious at times and people would pop up. Ranj appeared twice and I was 'I'm sure I've seen you'. It was quite confusing at times but you were just grateful for people giving up their time."
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Gethin during the interview described an unexpected effect of the long skate – he noticed himself involuntarily leaning to the left when walking.
The conversation concluded with an announcement about their fundraising success, as they had raised over £700k in donations at the time, prompting Gethin to express his gratitude: "Morning Live viewers, you're amazing, you always give so much."
BBC Breakfast had captured a glimpse of Gethin's mishap during a live segment at the rink, where, looking slightly disoriented, he confessed: "I actually don't know where to start", before cheering Helen on with: "Go on Hel, you go."
Helen intervened to clarify the situation, saying: "We're so tired. He's literally just stacked it into the side but he didn't want to miss out on speaking to you guys and the rules are we have to keep skating the whole time. It has been more of a challenge than what we were expecting."
BBC Breakfast's Nina Warhurst remarked on the scene, noting: "Gethin, I've never seen you like this."