Greg James was overcome with emotion after being reunited with his sister and young niece on the seventh day of his gruelling Comic Relief bike challenge, as the exhausted Radio 1 star admitted he was feeling “rotten” while pushing himself towards the finish line.
The 40-year-old Breakfast Show host is taking on an astonishing 1,000km tandem bike ride in just eight days, and has already been cheered on by a string of famous faces and loved ones along the way, including Prince William earlier this week.
But as Greg prepared to set off on the next stretch of the journey — one that would take him closer to the Scottish border — the strain of the challenge was clearly beginning to show.
In an emotional moment, Greg was surprised by his sister Catherine and his niece, and he broke down in tears as he hugged them before continuing on with the ride.
The touching reunion came just days after Greg revealed he had been “masking his emotions” following a devastating family blow. His father, Alan, suffered a stroke shortly before the challenge began, leaving Greg’s parents unable to be there in person to support him.
Speaking on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Greg opened up about the people keeping him going through the physical and emotional pain. He said: “I wanted to let everyone in a bit on what my village is, what the thing is that gets me through, and that’s Bella, and that is, that’s my lovely amazing dog.
“And that’s my Mum and Dad, and that’s my sister, and that’s my niece and my nephew and all my best friends, and everyone at Radio 1.
“And it’s all the people that support me every single day. And it’s the breakfast team, they sent me a selfie this morning and I started crying because I saw them in the studio and I was like ‘I miss those guys’ because we pick each other up every day.”
Greg went on to say that the people around him are the reason he has kept smiling despite how difficult the challenge has become. He said: “So that’s my village, and I’m lucky, I’m so lucky to have that. I’m so lucky to have those people, and they, and that’s why I’ve been smiling on that bike, even though I’ve not wanted to do it, because I’ve had all those people in my head that really look after me when I need it.
“And there are lots of people that don’t have those people when they need it, and I feel terrible about that.
“So that’s why I wanted to do this, and that’s why I’m going to complete it.
“But I am feeling rotten today. But we can, we can go again.”
Despite the emotional toll, Greg battled through another punishing day on the road and ended the stage just 75 miles away from his final destination in Edinburgh, setting up the final push during Friday’s Comic Relief telethon.
By the end of day seven, the presenter was given another huge lift when he discovered his fundraising total had climbed to an incredible £2,413,981.
Greg has been joined by a number of celebrity supporters throughout the challenge, but Thursday also brought one of the most bizarre and hilarious cameos yet when Jamie Laing turned up to cycle with him in bridal lingerie.
Jamie, 37, was returning the favour after Greg had once supported his own endurance challenge by wearing a wedding dress and running beside him. This time, the former Made In Chelsea star climbed onto the tandem in a far more daring outfit, with the pair later filming playful dance videos for social media.
Greg had previously promised Jamie he would join him in a wedding gown if donations passed £450,000 — a target fans smashed with ease. The dress also carried sentimental meaning, as it was a nod to Greg’s wife Bella, who proposed to him ahead of his Gregathlon challenge back in 2018.
Reflecting on that moment at the time, Greg said: “The whole thing feels like a fever dream.
“I’m currently running with him, at his pace, which I’ve got to say is really amazing. Genuinely. For running nerds he’s doing 6:00/km, still. Day 5.
“I’m with the couple of guys here that he’s running with, proper long-distance runners looking after him on the road. And they’ve said they’ve not seen anything like it, for a non-runner to immediately fall into that sort of speed is crazy. He’s just… he’s on one!”
After their latest Comic Relief reunion, Jamie said: “It was funny and inspiring. Greg is doing such a great job. He’s a beacon that is doing it all, and I’m sure would agree it’s the team behind him, the Radio 1 listeners and public who are the real superheroes because they are the ones donating to raise this incredible amount of money.
“The whole thing was awesome in every way. I loved every second of it, and I loved being in lingerie. I might wear it again!”
Greg also praised Jamie for lifting his spirits on such a difficult day. He said: “He looked fantastic. Although it took some time to get used to! Fair play for turning up and dressing up like that. It put a real smile on my face in what has been a really tough day in the saddle.”
Earlier in the week, Greg had already spoken movingly about how emotional the challenge had become after his father’s medical emergency.
Just a week before the ride began, Alan suffered a stroke during a planned heart operation. As Greg completed the second day of the challenge, he admitted he had burst into tears near the finish line while thinking of his dad, whom he affectionately calls “big Al”.
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.
“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.”
