Greg James makes an emotional call to his mother, telling her to “tell Dad that Prince William was on the back of the bike and I didn’t k.i.l.l the future King,” after admitting he has been “masking his emotions” over his father’s stroke

BBC Radio 1 star Greg James shared an emotional family moment after revealing that Prince William had unexpectedly joined him on his gruelling Comic Relief bike challenge — while his father remains in hospital recovering from a stroke.

The 40-year-old presenter is currently taking on an epic 1,000km tandem ride in just eight days, travelling from Weymouth to Edinburgh to raise money ahead of Red Nose Day. But behind the smiles and determination, Greg has also been coping with deep personal worry after his father Alan suffered a stroke during a planned heart operation just days before the challenge began.

In a touching clip released after day five of the trek, Greg was seen calling his mum Rosemary to tell her the astonishing news that the Prince of Wales had climbed onto the back of his tandem and ridden alongside him.

Greg told her: “Prince William turned up and he came on the tandem with me.”

Clearly stunned, Rosemary replied: “S**t I haven’t been watching,” before Greg explained that the moment had not yet been shown publicly.

As she told him she was on her way to see his father in hospital, Greg had one heartfelt message for her to pass on. He said: “Right tell him… tell him that Prince William was on the back of the bike, and I didn’t fall off and I haven’t killed the future King. Tell him that from me.”

His proud mum responded warmly: “I will, oh you amazing boy.”

The emotional exchange came after Greg opened up about how difficult the challenge has been, admitting that while the public support has lifted him, he has also been quietly “masking” his real feelings as he worries about his dad.