Jo Whiley sadly lost her father, Martin Whiley, on July 21 at the age of 86 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
The DJ and presenter returned to work shortly afterwards because she had a gig booked and didn't want to "let people down," despite feeling that all she wanted to do was be "in a room" by herself, "not talking to anybody."
During an episode of the Dig It podcast she hosts with good friend Zoe Ball, Jo shares that as she was feeling "vulnerable" hosting the 90s anthem gig, a lovely gesture from a fan in the audience brought her a lot of reassurance.
Explaining what happened, Jo says, "There was one person in the audience, and she had a sign saying 'number one Digger.'" A 'Digger' is the name coined by Zoe and Jo for followers of their podcast.
To begin with, the lady holding the sign was "at the back of the crowd," and Jo "clocked her and blew her a kiss."
The fan then made her way through the crowd still holding up her sign "the whole way," until she got to the front of the audience.
"It was amazingly comforting," Jo shares, adding, "It was such a sweet thing to do." The presenter recalls that being "really focussed" on the sign "really helped me a lot."
When the gig was over, Jo shared a photo of the show to social media. The presenter wasn't aware that so many people knew about the death of her dad, assuming the lady with the sign might've been one of the only ones.
However, it turns out many people in attendance knew she had been recently bereaved. Jo was then sent many other messages of support from those who had been at the show, after posting the picture from it online.
"I had so many comments from people saying, 'We were there in the crowd and we were rooting for you, and sending you all our love and support, and thank you for turning up and doing the show,'" Jo shares.
Emotionally, Jo continues to thank everyone who sent messages of sympathy, saying, "I had no idea that you knew what had been going on, and I'm really grateful."
Becoming tearful, Jo continues to reveal the level of support she's received, saying, "Everywhere I go, people have been kind."
The day after her father passed away, Jo tells podcast listeners that she went to the supermarket and the staff in there, who knew her dad well, handed her a bunch of his favourite flowers.
She later went to the dentist, and was offered condolences from staff at the practice. "It's so nice, people just acknowledging what's gong on and being kind and respectful," she shares, adding that the respect "means the world."
As she copes with her grief, Jo reveals that she felt "guilty" for going to a festival in the days after Martin's passing. However, this appears really positive for her mental health as she shares, "It's quite a release to go and dance and sing."
She says, "Life carries on, and you do have to carry on enjoying yourself."
Jo Whiley is the woman&home magazine cover star for September 2026 - on sale Thursday 26th July. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.
