Wing walking in the air ... Aled conquers his fear of heights
HE may have found fame singing Walking In The Air but for Aled Jones the theme was perhaps not appropriate – until now.
The Welsh singer has always had a fear of flying, unlike the title character in The Snowman, the film from which the song came. So to conquer his hatred of heights, he took to the skies to complete a wing walk for charity.
Nearly 33 years on from his Christmas hit, Jones donned an orange zip-up jacket, thick blue trousers and goggles as he was strapped to the wing of a Boeing Stearman biplane for his flight over Gloucestershire with AeroSuperBatics. The Songs Of Praise host, 47, even managed to sing a few snatches of his famous song while flying at 6,500ft.
Afterwards father- of-two Jones, a presenter on Classic FM, said: ‘That was the scariest thing I have ever done. Exhilarating but very scary. Just before take off, I felt sick to my stomach, my heart was pounding and I thought, “Why am I standing on the wing of a plane?”.’
Jones, who raised £14,000 for the radio charity Global’s Make Some Noise appeal to help disadvantaged children and their families, added: ‘I tried to sing one line of Walking In The Air, but it was definitely the worst rendition I’ve given in my life. I’ve never been so relieved to be back on the ground.’