Comic Rhod’s tears as Pudsey DIY park project completed
HOSTING DIY SOS for the first time, guest presenter Rhod Gilbert was overcome with emotion as he watched children enjoy their new adventure park and thanked the volunteers.
DIY SOS: The Big Build Children in Need Special was in Hull this year creating an adventure park and campsite for St Michael’s Youth Project, which helps children who live in the city to go out and explore and enjoy being in nature.
Previously, the show has helped to build a new surf centre at Caswell Bay, on the Gower, to help children with disabilities learn to surf, and during the programme they checked up on how the project was going.
Revisiting the surfing project, they spoke to a volunteer who is part of Surfablity. He said: “To come down and think wow, this has been given to us by our community is such a lovely feeling.”
The clip also shows a young person who is blind loving surfing the waves and the sense of freedom and confidence it gives her as she is able to totally enjoy surfing regardless of her disability.
Rhod himself became very overcome with emotion when back in Hull watching the children loving their new adventure equipment that the team spent nine days building.
Joined by Matt and Jo, who run St Michael’s Youth Project, Rhod was crying happy tears as the children played.
He said: “You said you wanted to see them smile... it’s all a bit much isn’t it?”
With his voice cracking, he said: “I’m happy for you, I’m happy for the kids. I’m happy for the guys who built it because I’ve seen what it took out of them and I’ve seen what it is going to put back into them...I can’t wait for them to see it.”
Rhod became more emotional while thanking all the build volunteers and struggled to finish his speech.
“I’m going to remember your faces for a very long time to come, I am... I think I have come to realise that Matt and Jo are actual pillars of this community... I think you can legitimately say, every one of you, you are pillars of this community as well.
Becoming too emotional to finish his speech he was cheered on by the volunteers as, crying, he managed to finish talking to them.
DIY SOS: The Big Build Children in Need Special can be watched on iPlayer.