BBC host Sophie Raworth‘s father sadly died just days before she started covering the VE Day commemorations, it’s been reported.
The journalist and newsreader, 56, has been at the helm of The VE Day 80 celebrations all week, hosting backstage at the live concert on the BBC tonight (May 8).
However, ahead if the show, it was announced that Sophie’s father sadly passed away earlier this week after a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
BBC host Sophie Raworth’s family heartache
Sophie – who has worked for the Beeb since 1992 – has been guiding the nation through the VE Day commemorations since Monday (May 5). But the presenter has also been concealing her personal grief as her father sadly died this week.
We will miss him always.
In a statement to the MailOnline, Sophie’s family said Richard “died peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease”.
Describing him as “a man with a big heart and heaps of kindness and tenacity”, his family also said Richard was a “businessman, photographer, jazz bass player [and] passionate gardener”.
The family added: “We will miss him always.”
Sophie on father’s ‘horrible’ Parkinson’s battle
Sophie spoke about her father’s battle with Parkinson’s disease back in 2021.
“My dad has had Parkinson’s for several years now. It is a horrible disease. Yet he deals with it amazingly. He never complains, just gets on with it with kindness and good humour,” she said.
Later that year, Sophie took part in a sponsored run, in a bid to raise money for a Parkinson’s charity.
She told her dad at the time: “Thanks for your love and support. You are wonderful. This run is for you.”
Sophie is a mum to three children – Ella, Oliver and Georgia. She shares the kids with her husband, estate agent Richard Winter.
After giving birth to Ella, Sophie spoke about how her relationship with her father and mother, Jenny, had changed.
She explained: “Having children really changes your relationship with your parents. We see so much more of them now. My mother can’t bear to be without Ella for more than a few days at a stretch.”
VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember airs on Thursday (May 8) at 8pm on BBC One.
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