Ranvir Singh has detailed the devastating family tragedy that means she dreads New Year in a candid moment while presenting Good Morning Britain.
The 46-year-old was presenting the ITV breakfast show when she opened up about the sad death of her dad.
After watching a video about a widow named Ali, who volunteers for the charity Grief Encounter, which benefits from GMB’s 1 Million Minutes campaign, Ranvir opened up about her own bereavement.
Ranvir’s dad died at the age of 42 when she was just nine years old.
Speaking to co-host Richard Madeley, Ranvir said she had a “really similar story” and that she was “grateful” for Grief Encounter because she “never had any of that.”
Ranvir Singh opens up on family tragedy
Discussing her dad’s death, she continued: “He had a heart attack. He was 42 years old and I was nine.”
She then opened up on how she recently realised her dread of New Year’s Eve stems from her dad’s passing.
Ranvir said: “Given that we’re heading into New Year’s Eve, it took me until about four or five years ago to understand why I absolutely have always hated New Year’s Eve.
“My dad died on January 21st but I never understood why I had a sense of foreboding about this ‘greatest night of the year’.”
She added: “As I said to you, I’d much rather be in bed but now I understand why I don’t like this time of year.
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“It’s because just around the corner was something terrible and every year since the age of nine I felt this weird sense of dread.”
Richard asked whether her dad had died at home, to which Ranvir answered: “No.
“But what I’m saying is that it’s fantastic what Grief Encounter do and it’s a lovely thing that Ali does.”
GMB’s 1 Million Minutes campaign
Good Morning Britain’s 1 Million Minutes initiative sees viewers donating their time to volunteering for charity.
At the end of Friday’s episode, viewers had pledged over 145 million minutes.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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