Richard Arnold recalls the heartbreaking moment when he discovered his beloved father had suddenly passed away, and the “overwhelming sense of love” he felt after his passing.
The Good Morning Britain star, 53, who lost his father Dave in 2016, explained that he was on holiday with friends in Italy when he received the devastating news.
Talking to Clover Stroud on Sue Ryder’s sadness kind podcast, Richard described his father as ‘a Cockney lad with a twinkle in his eye’, who had been married to his mother for nearly 60 years.
Richard explained that even from the beginning of his breakfast TV career, his father always supported him and regularly watched his early morning segments.
He added that when he died, Dave had no underlying health issues and tragically died in his sleep after a Sunday night at home.
Touching: Richard Arnold remembers the heartbreaking moment when he found out his father had died suddenly, and the “overwhelming sense of love” he felt after his passing
Richard explained, “It was a huge shock because like I said, he really was the creaking gate. There were no health issues at all that we were aware of.
“It was a Sunday night, he had a full casserole with mom, thanked mom for dinner, then went to bed and sadly didn’t wake up Monday morning, which was incredibly shocking, as you can imagine, to my mom, teenage sweethearts, et cetera, and just before their 60th wedding anniversary.
“I was on holiday with friends in Italy at the time, and I had just arrived, and we had taken a break on Monday. I left my phone. We came out on Monday morning to do the shop for the week for the villa.
“I came back and there were dozens of missed calls. There was one from a cousin I hadn’t seen in a long time, and he just said, “Please call home.”
“I called home, and she put Mom on the line, and then Mom told me, and then I turned to my boyfriend, Judy, Judy and Mel are good friends of ours, and they were in their early 70s, and we’re going to Italy a lot with them.
“I just turned to Judy and I said, ‘My dad passed away.’ I remember it’s strange, isn’t it, the things you remember, the details of it.
“She was cutting up some iceberg lettuce, and she dropped the iceberg lettuce and said, ‘Oh, no, Rich.’ At that point, of course, in shock, I spent a few minutes on the phone with Mom.
‘Then I went out into the garden, and as you can imagine, it’s Tuscany, it was a beautiful sunny day, completely contrary to the flow of emotions I was feeling at the time.
Tragic: The Good Morning Britain star, who lost his father Dave in 2016, explained he was on holiday in Italy when he received the news (pictured with his mum and dad in 2015)
“Speaking of that rush, I stepped into the sunlight and felt an extraordinary, overwhelming feeling of love.
“I felt like I was being lifted about a foot off the ground, and to this day I’m sure it was Dad who put his arms around me, held me tight, and set me down.”
Richard further revealed that he spoke about his reaction to his father’s funeral, and in the aftermath, “everything kind of fell apart.”
He continued, “I had this extraordinary urge to just keep eating, and Judy prepared a Salad Niçoise every hour to feed me.
“I just had this, I don’t know what it was. It was almost primary. I just had to eat, I had to eat, I had to eat.’
The star revealed that after his father passed away, he took his mother to London to move in with him for three weeks.
Reflecting on his grief, Richard added, “My relationship, I think, with my mother changed at that point because I stepped forward to fill the gap my father had clearly left. I don’t want to say anything about the house, but you know what I mean?
“I kind of stepped up to basically, in every way, be her other half to help her through it. Our relationship dynamics changed.
“To answer your question of whether I had time to grieve alone, Mom and I lived together for about three weeks. Clemmy, my cockapoo, never left her side, slept with her every night.
“Having Mum at home and under one roof meant we could get through it together. We would go for long walks and we were blessed because the weather was lovely.
“We went for lunch every day. I was lucky enough to be able to take three weeks to do that. That was a huge help to both of us.
“I had my other half, who was also extremely supportive, and like I said, this beautiful, strong, and robust friendship group.
“Because we’ve always lived our lives more or less like an open book, and they’ve had their own experiences with aging parents and grief, that was my main source of comfort.
“That helped me dedicate my energy to Mum because, I was thinking about Mum and Dad, I actually have this beautiful picture I took of them holding hands as they enter a hotel in Edinburgh that we go to often.
Sadness: He added, “My relationship, I think, with my mother changed at that point because I stepped forward to fill the gap my father clearly left”
‘The two of them are more or less in matching coats, hand in hand, and walk into the lobby of this hotel.
“That’s the bunch they were, real porch rockers, if you will.” That you can’t imagine life without them being together, if you will, which seems like a romantic ideal.
“Like I said, they were teenage sweethearts. It’s like that couple that comes in when the wind blows or whatever. I just have this Raymond Briggs-esque image of the two of them.”
Richard kicks off the second series of the Griefkind podcast, which gives others advice on how to talk to and support those experiencing bereavement.
Richard’s interview on Sue Ryder’s Grief Kind podcast will be available on all podcast streaming services starting Wednesday, June 14.