Carol Vorderman looked visibly upset as she recalled her heartbreaking childhood and her relationship with her late stepfather and his family.
In her new BBC series, Closer to Home, the 60-year-old opened up about "grieving" for the man she called dad when she visited his family home in Denbigh, Wales.
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When Carol was nine years old, her late mother Edwina formed a relationship with Italian builder Gabriel Rizzi and the family moved into his home. After ten years together on and off, Carol's mother left him.
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Reflecting on the positive influence her stepdad had on her younger years, Carol told her step-brother Arthur: "Gabriel's influence was like moving from a black and white world into one of technicolour."
"I don't think until I got older I realised what an effect he had on my life," she continued. "He was so loud and always laughing. He could shout as well but you know I loved him? To me, he was my dad."
© Photo: BBCThe TV star reflected on her childhood on the new show
She added: "I missed him when mum left him that final time, she said I wasn't allowed to come back, so I didn't because that was what she said. That hurt because I missed him."
After the visit, a tearful Carol told viewers: "Reminiscing about my dad always gets me emotional. The hardest thing is the knowledge now - I'm going to start crying again - that my stepfather loved me, probably as much as I loved him. And I only have to think about it and it makes me cry.
"I think I'm grieving for him. For the first time. Grieving for the lost years that I could have had with him in my life." She concluded: "But I will be forever grateful for the time I did have with him."
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