Chris Evans’ mother was told she only had a "month or two" left to live last year.
The 52-year-old radio presenter was forced to pull out of hosting his BBC ‘Breakfast Show’ yesterday (03.05.18) after he found out his beloved mum Minnie had sadly passed away just minutes before he was due to go on the airwaves.
But, although he’s devastated by the news, he’s "just so happy" she’s now at peace because she’d been suffering and had lived longer than doctors initially thought.
Returning to air today (04.05.18), Chris thanked Vassos Alexander for stepping in to cover him after he was given the sad news and for the listeners for understanding.
He said: "Thank you to Vanessa [Feltz] for the lovely card, thank you to the team for such wonderful support yesterday and thank you to you guys.
"It’s not the loss that gets you, it’s the love following the loss that gets you. So much love for a lady you never met.
"It seems actually some of you did know her, you had met her. My mum passed away just before we went on the air yesterday, so I had to go home to be with my family.
"The team here were just unbelievable as usual, I shouldn’t have expected anything less…they were just marvellous.
"We are back as Mum would have insisted we should be. I’m sounding quite chipper today but I’m just so happy my Mum’s at peace.
"My mum was only supposed to last a month or two, but five months after this, seven months in all, she was still there.
"All the carers, all the district nurses, have been absolutely fantastic. But no more fantastic than you guys. You’re all gorgeous.
"My brother-in-law Tom said: ‘in the end maybe she was too tough for her own good,’ which I thought was a lovely way of putting it."
Minnie – who was 92 – was known to fans as Chris often shared things about her on his social networking sites and she even made a few appearances at events.
Chris Evans returns to radio after mum’s death
