Richard Madeley has revealed his father ‘went too far’ with the regular beatings he received as a child, and suspects his dad was sexually abused.
The Good Morning Britain presenter has previously detailed the brutal punishments he received from his late father, Christopher Holt Madeley, which came to a halt when his mother intervened.
Richard, 65, has now shared the horrific secret which he suspects was the reason behind the beatings.
Explaining how he was hit ‘five or six times a year’, the presenter told The Sunday Times Magazine: ‘That went on until I was about nine or 10 and he went a bit too far, hit me too many times, and my mother had a word and that was that.’
Richard clarified that at the time, he ‘didn’t feel it was out of the ordinary’, as other boys his age were also hit by their parents. However, he stated: ‘But I didn’t like it. I wish it hadn’t happened.’
Sharing an insight into his father’s upbringing, he continued: ‘My father was basically f****d up by boarding school. He was a very happy farmer’s boy, but when he was 15 my grandparents discovered he had the beginnings of a girlfriend, which they thought [was] the road to perdition, so they packed him off to this ghastly place.’
Richard recalls Christopher having a strong Shropshire accent and didn’t quite fit in with the other boys at the boarding school, who’d already known each other for years and were well bonded.
He then revealed: ‘I have a strong suspicion he was sexually abused in some way. He never said that but there were some pointers along the way.’
Richard’s father died suddenly at the age of 49 and the star’s mother said Christopher had ‘never got over’ the alleged sexual abuse and was ‘broken’ as a result.
The TV presenter himself is, of course, married to Judy Finnegan and they share children, Jack and Chloe, while Richard is also stepfather to two children Judy’s first marriage.
The couple are also grandparents, with Jack a father to three-year-old son Kit, while Chloe recently announced she’s expecting her first child with husband James Haskell.
Victim Support
Victim Support offers support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. You can contact them on 0333 300 6389.
