During an appearance on The One Show on Wednesday night, Carol Vorderman emotionally reflected on putting a temporary halt on her love of flying, after losing her mother Jean last year.
Chatting to hosts Matt Baker and Alex Jones, Carol revealed that she actually had plans to fly solo around the world in 2017.
Alex Jones then asked whether the trip was still on, the 57-year-old admitted, “Well I got my first license when I was 53, it took that long.
“And then I got more and more licenses ,so I’m one below a commercial pilot now.”
When asked how often she gets the chance to put her skills to use, Carol confessed, “Well I was going all the time.
Becoming understandably emotional, the former Countdown host continued, revealing that her mum getting diagnosed with terminal cancer put a stop to all potential plans.
“But then my mum died last year. I don’t know, it was all tied up. I was meant to do this global solo last year. And mum had terminal cancer and was diagnosed with that so I had to cancel that. It was about 6 weeks before I was taking off.”
An emotional Carol, who appeared to be holding back tears, then confessed, “It all sort of merged with me at once, so I haven’t flown since she died.
However, the brave presenter revealed that she's still determined to take on the incredible challenge of flying solo around the globe.
She told hosts Matt and Alex, “I am starting again in March and hopefully a couple of years after that, I’ll go. So, there’s a lot of planning. But I can't wait to be honest, I absolutely can't wait.”
Carol's mother Jean passed away in June last year at the age of 88, after a short battle with cancer. The presenter shared the news with her fans on Twitter, writing, 'Some days are tough, today was one of them. Today was my amazing Mum's funeral.....❤️ Rest In Peace Jean Vorderman'.
'You will always be loved'.
Jean was told in March 2017 that her cancer had returned, and that it was terminal. And at the time, Carol revealed to the Mirror that she and her mother were determined to remain positive in the face of the sad news.
She admitted, "I love her beyond measure. We are laughing so much and she is having a lovely time. She refuses to let us be sad so we are taking our lead from her.”
