Gethin Jones is on hiatus from Morning Live. Swapping Manchester for Wales, the broadcaster is lending his talent to a pantomime production of Cinderella at Cardiff's New Theatre.
Following an "intense few weeks" in rehearsals, Gethin made his big debut as Prince Charming on Saturday 7 December and as his stage run continues, he's had some special visitors in the audience.
Among them, Gethin was delighted when his beloved nephew, Alby, stopped by on a school trip. Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the BBC star shared a photo alongside Alby and one of his friends.
Penning a sweet caption, Gethin noted: "There are many reasons why I wanted to do panto this year. As part of that, I knew @newtheatrecdf would offer performances to suit EVERYONE.
"Tonight was a 'relaxed' performance - no pyros, sudden lighting change etc - and we introduced ourselves in our costumes at the beginning. Alby my nephew (who is autistic) came with his school! I managed to get a pic with him and his mate after. They said they loved it. Special, and proud."
A doting uncle, Gethin is particularly close to his nephews, Alby and Lenny, both of whom are autistic and decided to co-found the charity, Nai, to raise money for various autism projects.
"Our nephews are the inspiration, but they don't benefit directly from Nai. We pay all the charity's expenses, so every penny raised goes to where it needs to go – that's important to us," Gethin said in 2018.
When he's not appearing on Morning Live, Gethin loves nothing more than hanging out with his nephews. Back in June, the BBC star posted some highlights from his day out with Alby.
"Special few hours with the birthday boy. The final show of the day came at the park. We've laughed all day. Alby is a joy to be around. His autism brings an innocence and a unique comedy. His birthday present cost 70p. (Not '20 quid')," wrote Gethin.
The presenter, who is currently single, has been asked whether he'd like to welcome children of his own one day, and in 2023, Gethin shed some light on the subject. Speaking with The Mirror, he said: "I've always wanted to adopt. I always wanted to have kids but adopt too.
© Shutterstock"A gay friend of mine in LA was doing it when I was out there and I was like, 'Wow.' I learned a lot watching him go through it.
"But obviously, you've got to be ready, it's a huge commitment," he added. "I think because I do a lot of work with children's charities, and you see these heartbreaking stories, I just think I'd love to be able to save a child in that sense."
