Vernon Kay has shared an update on the “furore” at home with wife Tess Daly after admitting he broke down in tears. The 51-year-old had said he was having a “stressful” time at home earlier this year as his 15-year-old daughter Amber prepared for her GCSEs.
Vernon, who also shares daughter Phoebe with Strictly star Tess, says the family then faced a “week of anxiety” ahead of results day on Thursday. But the BBC Radio 2 presenter was left feeling a “proud dad” when the teenager received her results.
Speaking to fellow Radio 2 star Scott Mills on Thursday, Vernon said: “I’m a proud dad! I can’t stop crying Scott, I seriously can’t stop crying. It’s GCSE results day today and we’ve done alright.”
Scott said he had received a number of messages from parents on Thursday morning as they struggled with the anxiety ahead of results. Vernon said the wait had been “horrendous” claiming it was worse than the A-Level results day.
He explained: “Because from A-levels onwards, you can kind of fudge, you can blag [it] a little bit because you’ve got a little bit of something about you, but GCSEs are tough, it’s the first major step, well it’s not a step, it’s a stride.”
On Friday morning however Vernon told listeners he had settled down. It meant the dad-of-two could turn his attention to the weekend.
He said: “I think I’ve relaxed now, I think I’ve calmed down after the furore, the hoo-ha of GCSE day yesterday. We can breathe, we can relax, and mummy and daddy can have a glass of something with an ice cube in it over the weekend.”
Previously Vernon explained that he found Amber’s GCSEs “stressful”. He claimed that thinking about his own exam time at school made him “depressed”.
The star said: “[We’ve] “Got GCSEs on the horizon…well, they’re here. We’ve started ours, we’re up and running.
“Of course, it’s stressful. I remember my GCSEs…well, I don’t…I’m lying, it was so long ago – 1990 I did mine. I remember sitting there thinking, ‘Gosh, I wish I’d revised’. I’m not remembering anymore, it’s making me depressed.”
Vernon shared his disdain for exams, admitting he was “rubbish” at them and saying: “It’s not the way education should be for me, more practical, playing out, hide and seek, I’d have got A+ in that.”
He sympathises with students, stating: “It’s torturous for some kids, isn’t it? If you’ve got kids who are going through GSCEs, just put your arm around them.”
Vernon met his now-wife Tess when both were budding presenters at rival TV stations, with Vernon on Channel 4’s T4 and Tess presenting on ITV’s SMTV. Despite the professional rivalry, they quickly became an item, with Tess, 56, recalling their instant chemistry and fun times together as she said, “immediate” and “we had a blast together”.
They married at St Mary’s Church in Vernon’s hometown of Bolton. They welcomed Phoebe into the world on October 17, 2004, in London, with Amber arriving five years later.