22 December 2023 , 11:02
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Richard Arnold revealed he'd had a "challenging year" as he thanks his Good Morning Britain co-stars for supporting him.
The 54-year-old broadcaster opened up his mum Dot requiring hospital care in the past year as he praised those who have been looking after her. After revealing it was his last work shift of 2023 before the festive break he said: "I would like to thank the staff at St Mary's Hospital who have looked after my mum on and off.
"The care teams out there, all of you out there who do that job - and unsung. And to all my friends and family who have wrapped me up in cotton wool this year as well, in what has been quite a challenging year.
"And to all my friends and colleagues and the entertainment team who put this stellar slot together. We managed to get to the end of the year gang! Merry Christmas to you all, have a good one."
Richard thanked his co-stars (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Weeks ago, Richard asked Good Morning Britain host Ed Balls to send a message to his mum live on camera to make it clear he wasn't going on holiday when he took a trip Down Under to cover I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!. However, Ed cheekily told Dot live on air that her son would be "on the beach" while in Australia.
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Meanwhile, Richard previously broke down in tears as he opened up on his childhood after enjoying a night at ABBA Voyage. He said: "It was the best night of my life."
"To say to my eight-year-old self who was very much lost against the rhetoric of the time growing up, so did a deep dive into Abba, because he had no idea who, or what he would be, or what his life would look like now.
"To find himself not only seeing ABBA, reform for the want of a better word, to be sat in the same row as ABBA, it was absolutely extraordinary. It was amazing."
It's not the first time Richard has cried on air after tearing up watching his last ever interview with Barbara Windsor. He said as he broke down: "That's just beautiful."
A clip then played of Barbara's emotional reaction to receiving the TV Choice Awards 2016 outstanding contribution to television. Explaining it was one of the first times she'd been recognised for her TV work, Barbara had said: "I never got television. I was all right with the theatres. Smashing, cracked it. Film, cracked that. But TV? No."
Richard added: "She would come into GMTV back in the day and shake the hands of everyone in the green room, everyone who was on the show."
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