TV presenter and radio host Paddy McGuinness says he has been “blown away” by support for his charity cycle ride from Wales to Scotland for BBC Children In Need.
The Top Gear presenter began his journey, which he says he does not regret and will “hang on to forever”, on Monday at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground, and is expected to finish in Glasgow on Friday.
The 51-year-old is undertaking the 300 miles of Radio 2’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge on his dream childhood bike, the Raleigh Chopper, with his bike painted in the colours of the charity’s mascot, Pudsey.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, McGuinness said: “It’s drizzling, it’s dark and it’s freezing, but still people come out there.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away by the amount of people, I’ve come all the way from Wrexham, out of Wales into England, up into Scotland, and I couldn’t tell you when there were bits where people weren’t stood on the roads.
“It feels like every single person knows what’s going on, it’s amazing.
“It’s really a privilege to be a part of it, it’s a little moment in my life I’ll hang on to – it’s been lovely.”
McGuinness set off on the last leg from Strathaven to Glasgow early on Friday morning and said he would miss the journey when he went back to his usual job presenting Radio 2’s Smile Every Sunday.
He added: “The only regret is: I should have put better padding on top of that (bike seat), but other than that, absolutely no regrets.
“In a weird way, I think on Monday I’ll miss it. When I’m sort of walking to the shop for my pint of milk and everything else in the morning, I’ll be like, why no one (here), why aren’t the cars going past going ‘hello’.
“I’ll miss that sort of letting on to people all the time and just that feeling of everyone being behind you.
“If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I could have got through it, because it has been really tough.”
Tom Hunter reveals why he donated
We previously reported on how the charity founded by the Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter said it will match the donations made by people to Paddy McGuinness for his BBC Children In Need challenge.
“It's a simple thing,” Hunter (below) told The National.
“But, you know, if you can do a few quid, then it'll make such a difference.”
Hunter then went on to say that one of the other reasons why he decided to match donations for McGuinness's fundraiser was because of the rally chopper he is using to complete the challenge.
“It's a kind of daft thing, but the rally chopper piqued my attention because I used to sell them when I was about 12 years old,” he said.
“I used to buy and sell them in New Cumnock and the rally chopper’s got a very, very special place in my heart."
