EXHAUSTED Mollie King was in floods of tears this morning after being told how much money she’d raised so far for Red Nose Day.
The Radio 1 presenter has swapped her mic for a bike to cycle a staggering 500km cycle across England.
She is heading to Hull where her dad Steve was from, and she’s hoping to reach Manchester tonight.
But Mollie, 36, told Radio 1 breakfast star Greg James earlier that she feared she wouldn’t make it.
She said: “It’s tough, it’s really tough. I’m drained I feel like I haven’t had any kind of recovery since getting off the bike.
“My muscles are just like, ‘oh we’re doing this again?’ It’s pretty brutal. I think at the start there was so much excitement and adrenalin that kept me going and now I’m drained. It feels like every push of that peddle feels like more of a struggle.”
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Mollie could be heard sobbing into her microphone on the radio and continued: “Salford. The thought of getting there tonight, is that going to happen? It’s just so tiring, it’s so hard.”
Greg told her: “There are horrible lows in these things, but there will be incredible highs. Think of other things, don’t think of Salford.
“The money raised is extraordinary, this might give you the boost that you need for the next half hour.
“The total so far for Peddle Power for Comic Relief is £181,023.”
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Mollie began to cry again and she struggled to speak, but she managed to say: “Oh my gosh, that is unreal. Oh my gosh I needed that today.
“Thank you so much, like seriously. Like this money is unbelievable. Oh my gosh, I’m a mess, I’m crying, I’m snotty.”
Greg contined to surprise Mollie and announced pop star Craig David was also on the line to offer his support.
Craig told Mollie to think of her late dad Stephen, who passed away in 2022 days after she became a mum – after he was tragically diagnosed with a tumour during her pregnancy.
Craig told her: “Be in the moment enough to be conscious and aware of moments, that is Steve saying he is with you on the way. That love he has for you on the other side, I know what you are doing it for, really it is for him, and he is consciously with you.”
Mollie said through tears: “Thank you so much, it really is good to think he is doing it with me.”
Earlier in the day Greg told listeners that Mollie was having a tough time and was “behind” on her cycle.
He said: “We were supposed to chat to Mollie King but Mollie’s finding it really difficult and we’re going to let her cycle a bit more because she needs to get into a zone where she is not constantly stopping, which is more than fine because we want her to focus on getting this challenge done.”
Encouraging viewers to sponsor her, he said: “The money you donate to Mollie’s Red Nose Day challenge will help tackle real problems.
“Lots of charities you fund are charities that are there when life throws up things that are unexpected, you are going about your business and then suddenly a thing happens and your life challenges. And you go, what? How am I supposed to make sense of this?”
Greg revealed one of the charities, changed the life of Mayrum, when she became the carer of her young niece, and two nephews alongside her own two children.
He said when the rug was pulled from beneath her, Comic Relief funded charity Kinship, who gave her support that she needed
Mayrum said: “Hi I’m Mayrum, I’m from Bexley, and I’m a Kinship carer. When I took on the three little ones I was in a good career, I had two teenagers, and overnight my life completely changed. For a long time I felt very depressed, it felt like I was starting out again, changing nappies, and I was not a career woman anymore. There was a loss there.
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“Kinship built me up again. With their support I’ve managed to go back to work, find my voice again, get support for the kids, I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me and countless families across the UK.”
To get involved and donate to Mollie’s epic charity challenge, go to comicrelief.com/pedalpower.
