Chris Evans has paid an emotional tribute to his mum, Minnie, who passed away at the age of 92 this week. The radio presenter had to pull out of his daily morning show when he heard of his mother's passing on Thursday, with his colleague Vassos Alexander, who usually reads the sport on the morning programme, stepping in to cover for him.
On Friday, Chris was back to his presenting duties, thanking his millions of listeners for all the messages and support he had received since revealing the devastating news.
"Thank you to Vanessa [Feltz] for the lovely card, thank you to the team for such wonderful support yesterday and thank you to you guys."
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He continued: "It's not the loss that gets you, it's the love following the loss that gets you. So much love for a lady you never met. It seems actually some of you did know her, you had met her. My mum passed away just before we went on the air yesterday, so I had to go home to be with my family.
"The team here were just unbelievable as usual, I shouldn't have expected anything less...they were just marvellous. We are back [on air] as Mum would have insisted we should be."
The broadcaster, who is expecting twins with his wife Natasha later this year said: "I'm sounding quite chipper today but I'm just so happy my Mum's at peace. My mum was only supposed to last a month or two, but five months after this, seven months in all, she was still there.
"All the carers, all the district nurses, have just been absolutely fantastic. But no more fantastic than you guys. You're all gorgeous. My brother-in-law Tom said 'in the end maybe she was too tough for her own good', which I thought was a lovely way of putting it."
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Chris, 52, and his mum were incredibly close, and he once described her "hard as nails", noting that she even once had eye surgery without any anaesthetic. He would also regularly share stories about his mother with fans, including documenting her first ever taste of pizza at the age of 91 by sharing a photo of Twitter. He wrote: "My mum – 91 years young – first ever slice of pizza! She's broadening her horizons. 'It's time,' she says."