Radio 2 star Paddy McGuinness breaks BBC fundraising records as he cycles 300 miles on a Raleigh Chopper
Paddy McGuinness’s 300-mile bike ride on a Raleigh Chopper yesterday smashed Vernon Kay’s extraordinary record from last year as he raised £7.5million for Children in Need.
Soon after he arrived at the finish line in Glasgow, to be greeted by fellow Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball, he laughed: “I’m going to need a couple of weeks in a dark room to process this.”
His fundraising total rose significantly after Scottish businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter pledged to match pound for pound what Paddy raised from Wednesday, up to a total £3million.
“I’m absolutely broken and I’ve never been so happy,” Paddy declared as he rode the last 18-mile leg of the challenge. “I know one thing – I’ve done some crying this last few days – flipping heck Zoe, I’ve been crying my eyes out!”
Sir Tom had joined him for the last bit on his own Chopper, telling Paddy that he’d officially achieved the status of “national treasure”. And he added: “My old Dad used to say the definition of kindness was helping people you’ll never meet. Thank you for being so kind.”
After finishing at 10.28am, having arrived at the BBC ’s Pacific Quay, he said he’d been overwhelmed by all the support and donations from the public. Choking up, he said: “I can’t believe it. Coming out of East Kilbride and I were looking at Glasgow, and it was lit up in sunshine.
And the streets were lined, I had Sir Tom at the side of me as well. I came around the corner there, what a sight, what a feeling, thank you so much everybody. Wow.” And he added: “It’s a moment in time I will take to my grave, and I will never forget it. It’s a mind blowing amount of money.”
Paddy’s total is expected to rise in the run-up to Friday’s Children in Need on BBC1. At this stage last year Kay, who ran 116 miles, had raised £3.7m which rose to become more than £6million over the following days. Yesterday Zoe had another surprise for Paddy, as she revealed that Vernon had tracked down his grandad’s medal from the Boer War.
She told him: “Earlier this year, when you were on Who Do You Think You Are?, they did a deep dive into your family history, in particular your grandfather, William McGuinness. He joined the Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in 1891 and was later given a medal for his service which they showed you on the programme. Vernon and his incredible listeners have managed to track down this medal and we’d like to give it to you now.” Paddy was thrilled, saying: “That is amazing – thank you, oh wow, look at that everybody.”
Dad-of-three Paddy told Jo Whiley on Thursday evening that he’d been helped enormously by cycling champ Sir Chris Hoy, who rode part of the way with him. “The most surreal moment of my life was going into a service station just off the motorway and watching a Knight of the Realm do Agadoo with Black Lace live. I was like, ‘this does not happen normally!’ It was brilliant.” Radio 2 has been playing Agadoo every time Paddy clocks up 50 miles and the band turned up at the 250 miles stage.
He was also moved to tears when letters from his own kids were read out to spur him on on Thursday. Twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and eight-year-old daughter Felicity, have all been diagnosed with autism, along with his ex-wife Christine.
The former Top Gear and Question of Sport host, 51, set off on his five-day journey from Wrexham on Monday and every part has been filmed for BBC1 documentary Paddy: The Ride of My Life on Tuesday at 8pm (MUST.
His family members who met him in Glasgow said they had followed his progress every step of the way. His cousin Lorraine said: “We’re so unbelievably proud and so humble that he’s done this.” And his step-brother Tony admitted he thought he’d “gone crazy” when he heard what he was planning. Choking up he added: “He’s my hero. I just love him.”
To donate to Paddy’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge go to BBC Radio 2 – Children In Need on Radio 2 – Paddy’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge
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