Beloved BBC presenter Jon Kay has broken his silence after fans queried as to why he was missing from the red sofa.
Jon, 54, has hosted the show on Monday to Wednesday since January 2023, alongside Sally Nugent – who has been there for almost a decade.
Fans were left confused last week when instead of Jon, they were greeted with Ben Thompson sat beside Sally.
But the beloved presenter has revealed that he was in fact on holiday with his family in Cornwall – but unfortunately for the father-of-three sunshine was not on the agenda.
Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Jon shared a carousel of pictures from the trip and said: ‘Bleddy great few days in Cornwall. After years of working there as a journalist, it’s so good just to be able to visit for family fun.’
Beloved BBC presenter Jon Kay has broken his silence after fans queried as to why he was missing from the red sofa last week
Revealing that the holiday was not all plain sailing, Jon added: ‘Flat tyre. Rained every day. As you can see, I fell over in a muddy ditch (and then pretended it was a deliberate April Fool – nobody was fooled) but we had a lovely spring break. Hope you’ve been enjoying some time off, too.’
Jon shared a variety of nature snaps from his holiday, as well as one of him covered in mud after falling in a ditch.
He has three children with his wife Francesca, who they keep out of the limelilght.
Jon’s co-host Sally joined the programme as a sports presenter and now hosts the show Monday to Wednesday with Jon.
Last month, Sally struggled to contain herself on the iconic red sofa as she heard the tale of an animal lover who mistook the top of a bobble hat for a hedgehog in need.
The presenter, 52, broke down in a fit of giggles as co-host Jon Kay read out stories of would-be Good Samaritans who mistook inanimate objects for animals in need.
As Jon read out submissions from viewers who mistook food – and worse – for the spiky mammals, the journalist failed to hold her nerve and had to cover her face as she laughed at the mortifying mistakes.
Sally giggled as Jon told her of a woman who mistook a fruit loaf she had thrown out for the birds for an animal – while a man described carrying a lump of horse poo out of the road after stopping traffic to rescue what he thought was a hedgehog.
Jon shared a variety of nature snaps from his holiday, as well as one of him covered in mud after falling in a ditch
Jon, 54, has hosted the show on Monday to Wednesday since January 2023, alongside Sally Nugent – who has been there for almost a decade
Fans were left confused last week when instead of Jon, they were greeted with Ben Thompson
Jon’s co-host Sally joined the programme as a sports presenter and now hosts the show Monday to Wednesday with Jon
In both cases, minutes apart, Sally lost her composure as she tried to process the hysterical stories – to Jon’s amusement.
Sally had been sharing the story of Cheshire animal hospital manager Janet Kotze, who told yesterday of how a well-meaning woman had brought in what she thought was a hedgehog for care – only to be told it was the top of a bobble hat.
She told that story with nothing but professionalism – but as Jon began to read out the submissions from others who have made similar mistakes, the mask slipped.
One viewer, called Sue, wrote in to tell her tale of what she thought was a hedgehog that remained still all day in her garden. Later that night, she wrapped it in a towel and took it carefully inside to dry off without examining it closer.
As Sally begins to giggle and begs to know what the item is, Jon continues to tell the tale – while she covers her face and scrunches up her face in giggles.
‘What is it, Jon?’ she asks, her voice peaking – as he replies: ‘It’s a fruit loaf,’ sending her into a fresh fit of laughter.
Sue admitted she had tossed out a fruit loaf in the garden for the birds to peck at – before forgetting she had done so as she went out to inspect the ‘spiky’ shape the animals had made as they fed on it.
‘I can be a bit scatty sometimes,’ Sue’s message read – prompting Jon to add: ‘You’re telling me, Sue.’
Sally begged Jon for the identity of an item one woman had wrapped in a towel overnight – and broke down when he revealed it was a fruit loaf
A tales came after a woman in Cheshire carefully nursed what she thought was a stricken ‘baby hedgehog’ overnight only to find out it was a fluffy hat bobble (pictured)
‘I don’t think anyone is going to send us a better one than that one,’ Sally said.
But the Strictly Christmas special star was was proven wrong minutes later by viewer Theresa, who shared another, even more embarrassing story.
She said her husband had stopped a line of traffic on a rural road while driving home from work after spotting a hedgehog in the road – only to realise as he approached that it was a pile of horse droppings.
‘He was too embarrassed because everybody was watching him so he gently picked up the horse poo and put it over the hedge and all the drivers started applauding him, thinking he’d saved a hedgehog,’ Jon said, as Sally burst out in giggles again.
‘What did he then do with his hands?’ she asked between titters, as weather forecaster Carol Kirkwood waved her hands in mock horror.
‘This is bringing the nation together,’ Jon joked.
