BBC Breakfast guest breaks down in tears after heartbreaking family death

A BBC Breakfast guest broke down in tears on Tuesday (January 6) after a heartbreaking family death. During today's edition of the hit morning programme, hosts Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell updated viewers on the latest news from across the UK and around the world.

Carol Kirkwood delivered regular weather updates in the studio, while Emma Vardy and Olly Foster shared business and sports news, respectively.

The spotlight soon shifted to an 80-year-old toy maker in the show's new Rise and Shine segment, which celebrates the positive work of individuals and groups across the UK.

Bill Houghton has handcrafted hundreds of wooden toys and given them to disadvantaged children. During a pre-recorded interview with Jayne McCubbin, Bill broke down in tears as he spoke about his wife, Pat, who sadly passed away last year.

"You're busy looking after everybody, but Pat would look after you," Jayne said.

"The love of my life... she looked after me, and she still is, because when I'm talking about her to other people it upsets me... But I pull myself together and think, 'Alright, she wouldn't want you doing this, stop it,'" Bill tearfully replied.

"If you didn't have all of this going on, where would you be?" Jayne then asked, with Bill adding: "I don't know. Without my toys and my kids, I wouldn't know what I'd do."

In his Wigan workshop all year round, Bill turns scraps of wood into toys for children who would otherwise go without a present at Christmas, or even on a birthday.

"There's hundreds of kids in Wigan with nothing. All the people who do referrals and stuff like that go into people's houses and go, 'Oh, what Christmas?' Kids have got nothing," the toy maker revealed.

Bill's toys are handed out by a charity called Daffodils Dreams, which supports some of the most vulnerable families in Wigan. Later in the segment, Jayne read out a letter from a woman who fostered two young boys who had received Bill's toys.

It read: "The boys have had a tough year and when they opened the box of goodies, their eyes lit up. It was lovely to watch. Every child deserves to escape into a world of play. I can't thank Bill and Daffodils Dreams enough for never forgetting anyone and helping the kids have a special Christmas. It is something we will never forget."

Bill instantly broke down in tears, saying: "Now, you'll get me upset... I get a lot of enjoyment out of making them and I get more enjoyment out of the way kids [have used them]," while Jayne concluded: "Keep doing what you're doing, Bill."

Back in the studio, Jon said: "It's another story of somebody who has turned a devastating situation in their lives into helping other people. It's exactly the kind of story that we're looking for."

BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am

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