began his epic eight-day 1000km charity cycling challenge on Friday, a week after his father suffered a stroke, leaving his health in 'bleak condition'.
Last Friday, the Radio One DJ, 40, cancelled his show to be with his family after his father suffered a stroke during a planned heart operation.
He then returned to work on Monday, confirming his father is ‘fighting hard’ and would be taking ‘small steps’ on the road back to recovery.
Now, Greg has this morning set off on an epic eight-day 1000km charity cycling challenge, in honour of his father, after he convinced him to take part.
The breakfast show host is taking on Radio 1's Longest Ride for , cycling from Weymouth in Dorset to in Scotland on a tandem bicycle listeners have dubbed Tando Norris.
On Friday morning, his fellow presenters and Molly King set him off on Weymouth seafront with hundreds of people turning up to cheer and wave him off.
Greg James began his epic eight-day 1000km charity cycling challenge on Friday, a week after his father suffered a stroke, leaving his health in 'bleak condition'
Last Friday, the Radio One DJ, 40, cancelled his show to be with his family after his father suffered a stroke during a planned heart operation
Greg appeared in high spirits as he lined up his bike at the starting line, sporting a Comic Relief red nose, before heading on his way.
Greg's bike challenge comes after he confirmed on Monday that his dad, 'big Al', is doing okay and is ‘still with us.’
He said: ‘Thank you to Sam and Danni for Friday, as there was a slight mishap with my dad. My dad’s not very well at the minute’.
‘I know that he would want me to get back on the show. And he’s still with us, which is good!’
And Greg said his father is ‘fighting hard’ and would be taking ‘small steps’ on the road back to recovery.
Previously talking about the challenge on his show, Greg said: 'Here’s a video which is more serious than I like to be on here, but I just wanted to update you on what’s [been] going on the last few days of my life.
‘I’ve had a terrible time. My dad’s not very well. Not very well at all. And it’s horrible.
‘You might have heard Sam and Danni talk about this on the Breakfast Show on Friday, because I wasn’t there. They were very lovely about it; they told lots of you, and thank you for sending me a message if you did. It’s massively appreciated.’
Now, Greg has this morning set off on an epic eight-day 1000km charity cycling challenge, in honour of his father, after he convinced him to take part
The breakfast show host is taking on Radio 1's Longest Ride for Comic Relief, cycling from Weymouth in Dorset to Edinburgh in Scotland on a tandem bicycle listeners have dubbed Tando Norris
On Friday morning, his fellow presenters Matt Edmondson and Molly King (seen) set him off on Weymouth seafront with hundreds of people turning up to cheer and wave him off
He said: 'In times like these, it’s so nice to feel the love from people.'
Greg added: ‘And for those that don’t know what’s happened to my dad, I’m sorry that you’re finding out on my wildly popular social media channels.
‘He was supposed to go, well, he did go in for heart surgery on Thursday, and I was on the Breakfast Show on Thursday because I thought, “That’s a good distraction.”
‘I’m always banging on about how great radio is at distracting you from your life and things going to s**t. It’s good for listeners, and it’s good for the people doing it as well. So, I was happy on Thursday. I thought, “That’s the best place for me.” I love doing that.
‘And then on Thursday night, we found out that, sadly, the operation didn’t go to plan, and he had a stroke. Which is really s**t.’
Greg said he went to visit his father in the ICU over the weekend.
He thanked the NHS for looking after his father and said: '
‘Particularly the handsome doctor that he’s having by his bedside.
Greg appeared in high spirits as he lined up his bike at the starting line, sporting a Comic Relief red nose, before heading on his way
Prior to his challenge, Greg joined several fans at the starting line for photos
Town mayor Caroline Nickinson also turned up to show her support for the star
