Gyles Brandreth fought back tears again live on This Morning as he opened up about the ‘heartbreaking’ death of his cat – just a week after he broke down in tears over his late father.
The 77-year-old presenter joined hosts Sian Welby, 38, and Rylan Clark, 36, to discuss the biggest news stories on Friday.
Beginning their morning news round, Rylan told Gyles: ‘I can see the jumper, we love you dearly on this show, but you’ve had some bad news.’
Gyles then shared the news that he and his wife Michele’s beloved cat Nala passed away at the age of 19.
He said: ‘I’ve shared my love for Nala over the years, she was the neighbour’s cat who came over two years ago, danced over the wall and adopted my wife.
‘The neighbour said ‘she clearly loves living with you and your wife more than us’, so she stayed.
Gyles Brandreth fought back tears again live on This Morning as he revealed the ‘heartbreaking’ death on Friday’s episode of the ITV show
It comes just a week after Gyles broke down in tears over his late father
Gyles shared the news that he and his wife Michele’s beloved cat Nala passed away aged 19
‘Sadly she died yesterday. She was nearly 20-years-old, she was a Maine Coon, which is a very long life for a Maine Coon,’ he said.
Gyles added: ‘She had kidney failure, a tumour and was not able to walk. It was time to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking because we loved her so much and she only brought happiness into our lives.
‘How wonderful to have a friend who did nothing but bring joy. The vet as chance would have, said ‘we’ve got a stay, do you want to come meet the stray’. We’re thinking of going this afternoon. Is it too soon?
‘I don’t know. The vet said ‘you can foster it, a little girl called Ethel. If it works you’ll keep her, if it doesn’t she’ll find another home’.’
Sian went on to say the new kitten was ‘fate,’ before Gyles opened up about how he and his wife are dealing with Nala’s death.
He explained: ‘It was quite a struggle last night because Nala used to always sleep on my wife’s tummy.
‘Last night I had to spend the whole night with my hand on my wife’s tummy so she would go to sleep.
‘I tried to be like Nala. We need another one. I’ll let you know. Thank you for being so sympathetic.’
‘Sadly she died yesterday. She was nearly 20-years-old, she was a Maine Coon, which is a very long life for a Maine Coon,’ he said
Gyles added: ‘She had kidney failure, a tumour and was not able to walk. It was time to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking because we loved her so much and she only brought happiness into our lives
It comes just a week after Gyles broke down in tears live on This Morning as he shared a devastating family bereavement on Friday’s instalment of the ITV show.
He joined Rachel Johnson, 51, appeared on the sofa to chat to hosts Emma Willis, 49, and Craig Doyle, 54, about VJ Day.
The annual celebration is on August 15 and marks the end of WWII.
Viewers sent in pictures of their loved ones that were involved , to which Gyles said: ‘Whenever we talk about the war, I think of my own parents.
‘My father was in the army for six years during the second World War, in intelligence – rarely talked about it.’
They then shared a snap of his beloved dad which made him well up.
‘There he is bless him,’ Gyles said.
As his voice broke, he continued: ‘That’s rather touching.’
It comes just a week after Gyles broke down in tears live on This Morning as he shared a devastating family bereavement while discussing VJ Day
Viewers sent in pictures of their loved ones that were involved, to which Gyles said: ‘Whenever we talk about the war, I think of my own parents. My father (pictured) was in the army for 60 years during the second World War, in intelligence – rarely talked about it’
He then turned to Rachel and added: ‘And your grandparents.’
Rachel put her arm around his shoulder and as Gyles fought back the tears, he said: ‘They were the good people! Really good people.
‘And interestingly, very interestingly, rarely talked about it. Just got on with it.’
Emma got up from her seat and rushed to the coffee table to hand Gyles a tissue.
Gyles went on to explain: ‘My father-in-law was in the RAF seeing the flights going over there and there were millions of people on all sides, of course, we were defeating an enemy for freedom.
‘It was a necessary war, it had a horrific ending because of the atomic bomb falling.
‘But you’ve got to remember it’s individuals.
‘And when you see the wars today, in Europe, and in the Middle East, it’s actually individuals on the front line on all sides.
‘It is alarming, but well done to people like my dad and my father-in-law.’
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1 from 10am and is available to stream on ITVX.
