Newsreader Huw Edwards was a reassuring constant during the Queen's death but he did receive some harsh feedback from his mother.
The BBC presenter said: "My mum kept messaging me, saying, 'You look exhausted, there are huge bags under your eyes'."
Huw, 61, said he found out Her Majesty had passed away only 10 seconds before he delivered the breaking news to the nation.
But unlike other big stories he felt calm and took his time to make the announcement. He told Radio Times: "Usually, when you have a breaking story there's a lot of shouting in your ear from the gallery, saying, 'Go to the news, go to the news', but this time was different.
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"The announcement came up on the wires and the gallery said, 'The announcement is here. Take your time. Speak when you are ready. Don't rush.'
"So I was able to pause for a few seconds, to make sure I'd do it flawlessly, to ensure I was happy with the announcement being in place, to check that it was correctly on the autocue. The important thing was that it had to be done properly.
"So I paused, and only then did I do it."
On the days that followed the biggest moment of his career, he was ever-present.
Huw said he exercised to stay on top of his game. He added: "Every day seemed to melt into the next, with programmes of five to six hours each day.
"My spare time was limited, but in between I did long walks, and a couple of boxing sessions."
Huw has been presenting the BBC Ten O’Clock News since 2003.
Asked about his future, he said: "I'm not going to walk away from something as prominent as the Ten. I genuinely do enjoy it."
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