Carol Vorderman has opened up about her own experience of fleeing the spotlight, as she pondered over the mysterious disappearance of teenager Jay Slater.
The maths whizz and TV legend revealed that after the death of Richard Whiteley, her dear friend and co-host, she felt compelled to hide away, unable to handle the public’s shared mourning.
Carol, 63, spilled the beans, admitting she sought solitude, cutting off all contact with friends for a good while. But social media users weren’t having any of it, with some slamming her tale as not quite on par with young Jay’s plight.
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Jay, 19, went missing on June 17 during a lads’ holiday in Tenerife. With mountain rescue, the local police, the Civil Guard, and fire brigade all scouring the area on day eight, there’s still no clues about his whereabouts.
(Image: (Image: Lancs Live/MEN Media))
Spilling the details on LBC, Carol recounted: “Richard Whiteley died, and he died quite suddenly. Every day people would talk to me about him, even though I wasn’t with him. There was a great love between us, but I couldn’t cope, I just couldn’t cope,” reports the Express.
She continued: “I couldn’t cope with being in the public eye, I just didn’t know what to do. I just had to disappear. I didn’t want anyone I knew around me, I just got in my car and I drove. I eventually found a hotel and I didn’t have anything with me.”
Carol opened up about her emotional turmoil, revealing: “I had my purse, and just locked myself away then, switch my phone off, all of that. I just stayed in that room, just to get my thoughts together really.”
Going further, she said: “So I do understand when people say that that’s their only option, I really do. There’s no shame about it, that’s why I’m telling this story for the first time. There’s no shame, everyone has those moments, I believe, at some point.”
(Image: (Image: PA))
The segment sparked fury among viewers who didn’t appreciate Carol comparing her circumstances to Jay’s. One viewer argued: “I don’t think this is the same unfortunately.”
Another concurred: “I don’t think this is the same thing Carol!?” A third sarcastically asked: “How do I make this all about me?” and: “Me, me, me.”
Britain was met with the shocking news of Richard Whiteley’s sudden death at 61 due to heart complications following hospitalisation for pneumonia at Leeds Royal Infirmary in May 2005.
Vorderman gained fame in 1982 as part of Channel 4’s Countdown crew and co-hosted the show with Richard from its inception, creating 23 years of television history cut short by his unexpected passing in 2005.
During a previous interaction with Piers Morgan, Carol confessed her affection for Richard: “He was more than just nice, he was funny, funny, funny. Every time we were in studio together I would cry laughing. He was just a joy to be with and I loved him. Not in that way, just a genuine, pure thing.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
