BEN Cohen fought back tears as he opened up about his dad’s ‘savage’ death after a nightclub row.
Speaking on Celeb SAS during Monday night’s episode, Ben was overcome with emotion.
In emotional scenes from the new season of the hit show, the former England rugby star opened up about his father, Peter, who died following a violent nightclub assault in 2000.
The emotional confession came during a tough period for Ben, who also opened up about his 17-year-old daughter having a heart condition.
Speaking in an emotional moment, Ben recalled: “My dad got beaten to death protecting someone.”
He said: “It was f***ing horrible. It was savage.”
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Ben went on to say: “He got bitten everywhere.
“It was in Northampton at a nightclub that my brother and my dad had but it wasn’t even open.
“It was these guys who had beef with somebody else.
“My dad was a really tough man to be fair. But he got a severe beating here and that’s what gave him an aneurism.
“You don’t know how to handle it at that age, You don’t. It’s kind of what I’m trying to process now. Really tough.”
Ben was then asked how he dealt with it back then and he explained he dealt with it then by playing rugby and becoming the best winger in the world.
In a cutaway interview he said: “What happened to my dad really leaves a hole in your life. Been on my own since 21. So I haven’t really got many people that I could probably turn to and ask for advice.
Elsewhere in the series, after being told that he should not take himself off the course Ben opened up about his daughter.
At the time, he replied: “Yeah, just the mental side I’ve got to get right.
“The thing that’s playing on my mind is my daughter’s pacemaker she’s got to have when I get back when I return off the course.
“My daughters got to have a pacemaker and that’s what Ive been battling with also in the last 18 months. So its been horrendous.
“So yeah tough writing those letters. My mind is just sending me to places which I found really, really tough.”
He added: “Izzy my youngest is having a pacemaker fitted and it’s a lot to process.
“Depression can sneak up and nip you in the backside if you’re not careful.I can lose myself in this for 8 days probably a little bit easier than everyday life. I need to wake up a part of me that I put away a long time ago.“
Later, Ben broke down in tears as he read out his death letter to Izzy as he told her “You are such a brave girl and have been so mature since finding out about your heart problem. You have been beyond amazing.”
