Vernon Kay and his wife Tess Daly both smile
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Children In Need ‘legend’ Vernon Kay branded ‘incredible’ by wife Tess Daly as fundraising total hits £4m

He's walking 115 miles in four days

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Vernon Kay and his Children In Need charity efforts have been hailed by his Strictly Come Dancing presenter wife Tess Daly.

Radio 2 presenter Vernon has powered through the final day of his Ultra UltraMarathon Challenge. The challenge has seen the 49-year-old DJ making a journey between Leicester to Bolton for the last four days.

Finishing earlier today at the home of Bolton Wanderers FC, Vernon has covered over 115 miles on foot.

He’s also confirmed to have raised a whopping £4 million.

Vernon Kay FaceTimes wife Tess Daly
Vernon Kay grabs a few moments with wife Tess Daly on FaceTime ahead of the final leg of his Children In Need challenge (Credit: Instagram)

Children In Need latest: Vernon Kay delights wife Tess

Zoe Ball announced the total raised so far by Vernon on Radio 2 as £3,100,093 earlier this morning (Friday November 17).

And Strictly host Tess reacted on Instagram by sharing her delight on her main grid and Stories.

Tess, 54, has supported her hubby throughout his exertions on social media – saying this morning she is “feeling so overwhelmingly proud of him”. She also shared an emoji with tears in its eyes, signalling her emotion over her hubby’s achievement.

Finishing up with a hug from mum Gladys at his beloved football club, Vernon discovered he has now raised in excess of £4m.

Vernon Kay continues Children In Need challenge
Tess shared support for Vernon’s epic trek, but wasn’t at the finish line (Credit: Instagram)

‘Toughest day’

Yesterday (Thursday November 16) Tess shared her concern for her husband as she admitted it had been Vernon’s “toughest day”.

Nonetheless, she still geed Vernon up ahead of the final leg of his journey. She wrote in a Story: “Still got another 6/7 hours to go! Good luck Vern. We’re all behind you!”

Tess, who called Vernon a “legend”, also shared a clip of him being welcomed by a crowd of supporters as he finished up last night. Holding his head in his hands, Vernon appeared overwhelmed by the appreciative reception he was given.

Vernon Kay continues Children In Need challenge
Vernon seemed overwhelmed by fan support (Credit: Instagram)

‘Absolutely gutted’

Demonstrating they’d bagged a few moments to catch up over FaceTime this morning, Tess shared a snap of her and Vernon speaking to one another.

Sadly, however, Tess wasn’t there when Vernon reached his destination.

“Absolutely gutted not to be at the finish line not to cheer you on today @vernonkay!” she wrote in her post’s caption. Tess explained that she’s in Blackpool for Strictly instead.

She gushed: “What a moment. What an achievement. I am SO PROUD of what you’ve done!”

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A post shared by BBC Radio 2 (@bbcradio2)

Tess went on to share her fears over the “toll” the challenge has taken on Vernon, too. She said: “I can see in your body that it’s taken a physical toll. But I know that it won’t matter. The total of over 3 MILLION raised for Children In Need @bbcin is just incredible.

Love you to bits Vern. You’ve got this!

“And the generosity and support shown by everyone that’s come out to support you along the way has been beyond wonderful. I know it’s kept you going (and me too). Love you to bits Vern. You’ve got this!”

Read more: Vernon Kay raises £1.2m for Children In Need as wife Tess Daly supports his 115-mile Ultra UltraMarathon Challenge

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer