Gary Lineker left the festivities of the World Cup behind in Russia and returned to the UK for one heartbreaking reason.
Lineker had been presenting a World Cup highlights show from Russia on BBC2 last Thursday, (June 28) and the very next day, is said to have caught the most direct flight available from Russia to Wales.
It was a six-hour journey for the former footballer and he had to go via Paris, The Sun report.
The BBC presenter left his duties in Russia for just one day to return to the UK to support his ex-wife, Danielle Bux, as her mother was laid to rest.
Lineker was a pallbearer at the funeral for Danielle’s mother, Kim Mohammed, who was 57 years old. She’s reported to have had a heart attack.
The funeral took place at St David’s Church and was followed by a wake at the 4th Glamorgan Home Guard Social Club, where 200 people came to pay their respects.
Lineker attended the funeral with his ex-wife, arriving and leaving together. The couple divorced in 2016 after six years of marriage, but have stayed friends.
Lineker tweeted about the couple’s relationship following their announcement of their divorce in 2016.
The tweet read:
Thank you all for your kind words. @DanielleBux and I had many wonderful years together. We remain very close and the greatest of friends.
Due to his tight schedule, it seems Lineker couldn’t stay for too long on the day, but he was still able to support Danielle during this difficult period.
A worker at the wake said:
Mr Lineker was here for quite a while, at least an hour. He and Danielle are still close friends and he clearly cares about her.
There were no football games on the Friday of Lineker’s return, (June 29) but he flew back to Russia on Saturday, (June 30) to host the Argentina v France game.
Despite the 3,300-mile round-trip, Lineker was back in time for his presenting duties.
A BBC source commented about Lineker’s professional stance on the situation:
He was the ultimate pro, ensuring he did not miss airtime. Despite the breakneck travel schedule, he knew supporting Danielle was the right thing to do
Danielle has a new partner now, US entertainment lawyer Nate Greenwald, and lives in LA with him and her 10-month-old daughter Romy Wren.
She’s said to have flown back to the UK after her mum fell ill a couple of weeks ago, and Kim died days later.
Danielle supported Lineker when his father died in August last year.
Replying to a tweet Lineker had posted announcing the news, she wrote:
The proudest Dad in Britain, and such a character. He’ll be missed. RIP xxx
Once back in Russia, Lineker shared his opinions of the Argentina v France game, writing on Twitter:
Argentina are in the doo-doo: France are unbeaten in their last 18 World Cup games in which they’ve scored first, winning 16 and drawing 2.
Last time they lost scoring first was against Poland in 1982.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.