Mollie King: Singer raises £1mil for Comic Relief in memory of late father after epic 500km charity ride

Mollie King has broken down in tears as she completed 500km Red Nose Day charity bike and raised a whopping £1million for Comic Relief in memory of her late father, Stephen who died of a brain tumour in 2022.

The Saturdays singer set off on an incredible five-day journey from London to the East Riding of Yorkshire, ending in her final destination of Hull, the hometown of her late father. Upon crossing the finish line, she was greeted with a hero's welcome by her fiancé Stuart Broad and their 16-month-old daughter Annabella.

The 36-year-old BBC Radio 1 presenter said after the challenge: "Oh my goodness, thank you everyone for coming down. I am completely overwhelmed... I can't believe we have raised £1million. It was time for me to think about my dad and to know he was doing the journey with me."

Towards the end of the challenge as she approached Hull, Mollie became overwhelmed with emotion. Sitting in the back of a car, she sobbed: "It's the first time in ages I've really felt proud of myself and I'm quite tough on myself generally but this is so beyond what I'm capable of physically. I'm not a strong person but to have got to day five, I was thinking, "Mol, you should be proud of yourself here". This is mad."

Mollie lost her father in November 2022, just days after she welcomed her baby daughter, Annabella with fiancé Stuart. His death came as a huge shock to the family as Mollie said her father had been fit and healthy prior to his diagnosis and had even completed the London Marathon,

However, her accomplishment did not come with obstacles. On Tuesday, during an appearance on Dean and Vicky's radio show, Mollie's co-star Charlie Hedges admitted that Mollie was "seriously struggling" and "absolutely shattered" two days into the challenge.

Revealing what Mollie had told her off-camera, she recalled her saying: "Do you know what I've had it, I'm absolutely shattered." Charlie continued: "Even tho she still looks beautiful, she looks shattered. She looks 'like she's hit her limit already. It's been a tough day.

"I think we just need to get her through today, I think she's seriously struggling. That amount of money we told her is a big deal to her and is spurring her on, but in my heart knowing Mollie, we really need to get her to the end of this day.

"The only way to do that, is for us to stop talking rubbish and for everyone to pull together and get this money in. This is the only way to get her through. What's going to help her is the reason she's doing it in the first place and that is to raise a heck of a lot of money."

Mollie previously revealed she has never actually cycled on the road before and admitted Stuart was baffled at her decision. Speaking to The Mirror: "When I first said I was doing this he was in shock and said, 'You are what?' He knows I'm not a cyclist. So he's been really supportive."

Mollie also admitted there is some friendly competition between her and Stuart, a retired cricketer, as she teased: "I'd been trying to train for about six weeks and the first time we went out, within about 10 minutes he was flying past me. I was not amused. He's just got it. I can see why he's the athlete of the family."