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Richard Madeley rose to fame on the ITV flagship show ‘This Morning’ alongside his wife Judy Finnegan – now hosting by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. The pair, once described as TV’s most enduring double act, spent 13 years there before moving to Channel 4 to front their own eponymous programme and made other small screen appearances. Richard now runs his own marriage counselling and dating advice column. While reflecting on his career and lengthy time in the public eye, the star revealed his biggest mistake was unintentionally abandoning his stepson in unearthed accounts.
Richard, now 64, recalled the horrifying experience while his family took a trip to Death Valley, in California, US.
His son Tom was 15 at the time when they visited the popular destination that’s especially known for it’s sweltering heat.
That section of the Mojave desert is renowned for being among the hottest locations on earth – which at its peak, saw temperatures as high as 57ºC.
While there, Richard claimed he learned his hardest life lesson so far and revisited it during a 2016 interview with Huffington Post.
The star said that from then onwards he would “always check the rear seat of the car before driving off with the family in it”.
He continued: “Otherwise you could actually drive for 40 minutes before you realise you’ve left your son behind at the garage.
“It’ll be a very quiet and fearful journey back, until you spot him waving in the road at the point you left him.”
Richard also revealed some of his tips for navigating a lengthy career in the public eye, including how to deal with negativity.
He claimed to try to “validate” all criticism and see if there was “good cause” behind it – “nine out of ten” he concluded that there wasn’t.
The star said: “On the rare days when I wake up down and depressed, I have a shower and sort my head out.
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“By the time I’m out, I say to the negativity, ‘Nice try, but you have to leave now. Bye.’ And off it goes.”
Richard revealed that radio broadcaster Clive James gave him the most useful advice of his career about “dealing with the pressures of live broadcasting”.
The star recalled: “He said, ‘Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you say, it’s about how you come over.’”
Away from his time on-screen, Richard explained that his happiest moments were when he was able to sun himself in the South of France and take long walks in Cornwall.
He added: “I leave the phone at home in Cornwall, and I walk from Polperro, where we live, along the cliff.
“It’s a good two miles, and I look out to the Atlantic, and I remember that in 1599, that bit of water would have been full of ships as the Spanish Armada sailed by.”
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