Celebrity Race Across The World star Kola Bokinni speaks about 'extreme stress' of his dad's dementia death

In scenes that aired during the BBC reality show last night (Wednesday September 11), he opened up about filming comedy scenes for Ted Lasso and then going home to look after his poorly dad.

The 32-year-old said that he had taken on the challenge show, which sees famous faces and family pairs take on a race across the world, in the hope that it would help him to "heal" after his father's death. Bokinni’s dad Taiwo died last year after a three year battle with dementia.

Bokinni, who plays AFC Richmond captain Isaac McAdoo in the Emmy and SAG Award winning Apple TV+ series, and his cousin Mary Ellen worked on a horse farm in Argentina to try to boost their budget. Mary Ellen told the cameras: "These last few years, it hasn't been an easy ride for him. I want him to really process and go through it all and I don't think he's done that."

Looking at the horses, Bokinni said: "Being here makes you feel, I am not the main character of life. Life goes on whether you're here or not, and there's something beautiful about that." He went on: "Last year wasn't the best year for me, I lost my dad. It was a long road. He had dementia for three years and it took everything from him. It was extremely stressful, going to set and then coming back to look after my dad. I think out of all our family members, I was the last one that he remembered. And then, nothing. Heartbreaking.

He added: "You almost grieve for them while they're still alive, when their personality is all but gone. So what I actually felt when he passed was, selfishly, a little bit of relief because I didn't have to see him the way he was in his final days. I like to believe he's at peace now. He's not alone, he's not in the dark any more, because that's what the disease does to you. It puts you in the dark."

He said that he does miss his late dad, who was 81-years-old,: "I do miss him, but saw taking part in Race Across the World as “a chance to disconnect and in a sense heal a little bit”. He concluded: “There was something so calming about being on that horse. For a split second it took everything away, it was just me, chilling, riding a horse, and that's what mattered."