Stephen Mulhern breaks down in tears after year from hell as he films new TV show following beloved father's tragic death and own health battle that saw him rushed to hospital and undergo mystery procedure
Stephen Mulhern has revealed he broke down in tears while filming new travel show The Accidental Tourist, following his year from hell.
In 2024 the presenter, 48, was not only left heartbroken following his beloved father Christopher's death, but also battled through his own health woes and was rushed to hospital after collapsing at a Pizza Express.
The new one-off ITV show sees Stephen's pals Ant McPartlin, 49, and Declan Donnelly, 49, whisk him away to South Korea to push him out of his comfort zone to eat food he does not like and was filmed shortly after his father's death.
Stephen told the Daily Mirror: 'No one's ever seen me cry on the telly, but it was quite nice to not be behind a format, I've never done that. You're going to see behind the razzle-dazzle if you like'.
The Catchphrase host loved has pride in himself for starring in the show - which reportedly took him three years to be persuaded to do, but said was 'gutted' that his father was not alive to see how he got on.
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An emotional Stephen admitted: 'My dad had just passed away, so that's the only thing. I'm gutted that he didn't see it.'
He continued: 'People have thankfully seen me on TV for nearly 25 years, but they may go, 'Well, what's he like at home? Is he going out with someone? I'm at the very centre of this, and it's scary'.
'They film and they film and they film and they just get everything. I think what you're going to see is a lot of emotion. You'll see me totally out of my comfort zone.'
It was announced in November that Stephen's father Christopher had passed away, with a spokesperson for the star telling told: 'Stephen has had an incredibly tough time over the past few weeks.
'His beloved father recently passed away which has hit him hard and has been understandably very stressful'.
Stephen was born in east London in 1977 to parents Christopher and Maureen who worked as market traders.
The star has credited his success to his parents saying: 'I don't mean to sound soppy, but they worked so incredibly hard to bring up me and my two brothers and sister.'
Raised alongside his three siblings, he honed his people skills by working on his father's market stall before he went on to pursue his career as a magician.
Shortly after Stephen's father died he was rushed to hospital after he collapsed while eating at a Pizza Express following an unknown medical procedure he had earlier in the day
Then shortly after Stephen was rushed to hospital after he collapsed while eating at a Pizza Express following an unknown medical procedure he had earlier in the day.
After paramedics helped him, he was put on the phone to his mother to assure her that he was OK.
A source told The Sun: 'Stephen has been going through an incredibly tough time of late. He is grieving the loss of his dad to whom he was so, so close.
'He's also been battling several well-documented health problems, and on Wednesday morning had a procedure requiring a local anaesthetic.
'He took himself off for a quiet, solo dinner that evening, had a few drinks and just reacted incredibly badly. He's only human, and his dad's death has hit him hard.'
Stephen first sparked concern after he pulled out of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway back in April 2024 after he was struck down with illness.
He reportedly told producers on the Saturday morning of filming that he was not up for doing the show that evening as he was feeling under the weather.
While he was absent from the show, the nature of his illness wasn't revealed but a source close to Stephen told The Sun on Sunday: 'Stephen was due to be on a small section of the show, but sadly he was feeling a bit too poorly to perform.
'When he realised he would be too under the weather to show up he called first thing on Saturday morning to let the team know.
'They were able to rejig the format and make it work without him.'
Stephen has also had a stressful time regarding one of his properties after his tenants claimed they had been living with damp and mould for years.
The presenter was forced to apologise to the tenants living in a house owned by his £4million firm after they said they felt 'bitter and alienated' after having their complaints ignored for two to three years.
Stephen suffered another blow after his beloved ITV show In For A Penny was axed, according to The Mirror, a shock decision meant his own fan-favourite Saturday night gameshow has been shelved after six series - but, bosses haven't ruled out a potential return and suggested it may have just been temporarily paused.
An ITV source told MailOnline: 'Whilst Stephen is busy filming other projects over the summer, In For A Penny continues to be a much loved format for ITV.
'So don't put your pennies away just yet as the team could be popping up in your local town, to challenge even more members of the public to take part in their unique and madcap games in the future!'
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