Celebrities

BBC’s Nina Warhurst Shares Heartbreaking Goodbye to Her Dad and What She Wants Others to Know

Published on July 8, 2025

BBC Breakfast’s Nina Warhurst has shared the devastating news that her father, Chris, has passed away. The 44-year-old presenter revealed he died peacefully last Wednesday in a care home, following a long battle with dementia.

Posting a touching black and white photo of her holding his hand, Nina opened up about the emotional final days they spent together. “My Dad died on Wednesday night,” she wrote, reported Bristol Live. “From Sunday me, my Mum and sisters spent precious time with him around the clock… singing, crying, laughing, sharing memories. On his last day we had nursing home afternoon tea, chippy chips and wine together.”

She described how she and her sister Amy were there at the very end, telling him, “go head. We’ll see you there soon.” He passed away gently, Nina said, with her hand resting on his chest. “A gentle end to a gentle life,” she wrote. “So much love and laughter and sunshine across days I’ll never forget.”

While still coming to terms with the loss, Nina said she now carries her dad with her everywhere. “He is in my mind all the time now as we adjust to a world without him in it. I can’t quite accept that’s real yet. But we think it’s really important for anyone going through this to know that the end can be peaceful and beautiful.”

Chris was diagnosed with mixed dementia, a combination of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, back in 2022. Earlier this year, Nina spoke candidly about how caring for him changed her, saying, “I don’t think I really became a proper grownup until we had to look after my Dad.”

She described the feeling of losing the one place where she could still be a child. “Because of dementia, I lost the home I could go to and still be a child. I lost one of those few pillars of people who I knew would love me, whatever. I thought that support was lost.”

But even in the final stages of his illness, she found comfort in just being near him. “Leaning my head on his chest and closing my eyes for a few minutes gives me the sense of safety and love that I’ve always had and that I still need,” she said. “We don’t chat and laugh and sing as much as we did, even up to last year… But this is what we have left. And it’s enough.”

Nina’s deeply personal post touched thousands, with many sending their love and sympathy. “Oh Nina I’m so sorry for your loss. You gave him a beautiful send-off and were with him as he passed and that means so much,” one person wrote.

Another added: “But what a beautiful ending, that really is such a blessing.” And many echoed how meaningful it was that she and her family were able to be there, describing it as “eloquent” and “full of love”.

Nina’s heartfelt message has brought comfort to others going through similar journeys, and her openness about the highs and lows of caring for someone with dementia is resonating far beyond her own story.

Don’t Miss These: