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Strictly Come Dancing presenter admits 'it's upsetting' after discovering painful loss

One of the new Strictly Come Dancing presenters has opened up about suffering a heartbreaking loss, admitting "I'm still not really over it" while the bereavement left them crying at a train station

[Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe]

Josh Widdicombe (right) suffered a heartbreaking loss (Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)

Strictly Come Dancing presenter Josh Widdicombe revealed how he had to say goodbye to the family cat who had been with them for 11 years.

Josh, who makes his Strictly presenting debut in September alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe, revealed how he laid feline Beryl to rest, calling it "genuinely upsetting".

The 43-year-old told how the cat is in an urn in the family home in Devon alongside her sister Eddie.

Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast, he said: "Genuinely, I'm still not really over it. I know this sounds mad, but I'm struggling to connect with the other two cats. I feel resentful of them. I just wish it hadn't happened."

Josh and Rob's conversation also became more existential as they touched on the differences between a human dying and one of their pets.

Josh said: "There's something about an animal dying where if a human dies, you know, which is obviously much worse, just to put that first.

[Josh Widdicombe ]

Josh admitted 'it is extremely upsetting'(Image: Getty Images)

"There's a lot more questions when a human dies about what was my relationship like with them, should I have seen them more?

"Plus there's all that stuff back on yourself like 'oh my God, time's passing.' You don't get that with a cat, it's literally purely about feeling incredibly sad that the cat won't be there anymore."

Comedian Josh makes his debut on the BBC mega reality show next month. Celebs competing in the new series include EastEnders star Lacey Turner, actress Jaime Winstone and reality TV star Dani Dyer.

He told the story of how the family woke up one morning to find Beryl had passed away.

Josh said: "It was incredibly upsetting for me and Rose (his wife Rose Hanson), I'll be honest. My daughter was very upset, but kids get over it incredibly fast.

"I couldn't believe how upset I was. I didn't even care about cats when we got them.

[Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis]

Strictly's new presenting team Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe and Emma Willis(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)

"I actually had to get a train to London. And then I was on the platform at Exeter St Davids. I had to go into the toilet because I was crying. Just went into the toilet cubicle and sobbed."

Josh then told the story of how the TV star was offered the option to save a bit of money on the cremation.

He added: "Because the previous one you took to the vet, you see, so I phoned the vet. And they said, 'we've got this really nice man whose job is pet cremation.' A wild job to be fair. So he came and got Beryl.

"I told you what happened with Eddie, didn't I? They said, 'do you want to pay this for cremation or do you want to pay a bit extra for her to go through on her own?'

"So, well obviously I want her to go through on her own. I don't want the ashes of a load of cats."

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