“THANK YOU” – Gethin Jones’ Tearful TV Moment for Helen Skelton leaves Morning Live viewers Stirred!

Gethin Jones became emotional on BBC’s Morning Live while expressing gratitude to his co-star Helen Skelton after their 24-hour skating challenge.

The duo finished the task during Friday’s programme and later spoke with hosts Sara Cox and Kimberley Walsh about the Wheely Big Challenge, which had raised over £700k for Comic Relief at that time.

Donning his skating gear and visibly worn out, Gethin, who had stumbled an hour before the finish, struggled to contain his tears as he praised Helen for her support.

Sharing his experience, Gethin revealed: “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.”

Gethin Jones emotional on Morning Live (Image: BBC)

Overcome with emotion, he added: “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 Wales Online.

Looking towards Helen, he affectionately said: “You were amazing, you were incredible. She was just getting me through.”

In response, Helen, offering comfort by taking his arm, remarked: “It’s a team, it’s a big team.”

Helen opened up about her challenge during the roller-skating marathon, admitting to feeling as though she had peaked early. She recounted her conversation with Gethin: “I said to him (Gethin) at one point, ‘how are we still here we’ve got eight hours left to go?'”

Throughout the day, they were accompanied by various celebrities, including Dr Ranj and Kimberley who slipped up. Reflecting on the moment, she commented: “I tried so hard to stay up but, like you say, if you lose a bit of concentration or get excited you’re gone.”

Helen also spoke about the oddity of the event, saying: “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.”

Gethin Jones and Helen Skelton after their 24-hour skating challenge (Image: BBC)
During the interview, Gethin shared an amusing consequence of the long skate – he found himself involuntarily leaning to the left as he walked.

The conversation rounded off with the reveal that they had amassed over £700k in donations at that time, eliciting a heartfelt reaction from Gethin: “Morning Live viewers, you’re amazing, you always give so much.”

BBC Breakfast had earlier captured Gethin’s stumble during a live segment at the rink.

While navigating around, Gethin confessed: “I actually don’t know where to start”, then encouraged Helen with a supportive: “Go on Hel, you go.”

Helen stepped in and explained: “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 presenter Nina Warhurst observed: “Gethin, I’ve never seen you like this.”