The BBC Radio 1 presenter is absent from work to accompany his wife Bella Mackie as she checks into hospital and needs to go under the knife due to appendicitis.
- Sep 15, 2023
AceShowbiz - Greg James was forced to miss his BBC Radio 1 show after his wife Bella Mackie was admitted to hospital for surgery. The 37-year-old broadcaster skipped the "Radio 1 Breakfast" show on Friday, September 15 after his author partner was struck down with appendicitis and he opted to stay by her side with fellow presenter Jordan North stepping in to cover his slot.
"Today hasn't been a classic tbh," Greg wrote as he shared the news by reposting Bella's Instagram update which showed her in hospital. She wrote, "In the morning I have to have surgery for appendicitis and I am terrified. If you've had this op and want to reassure me, that would be nice (only reassurance nothing else)."
Greg went on to explain he wouldn't be on the radio on Friday morning, writing, "Luckily for her she married an annoyingly upbeat man to keep her company (before I get chucked out). Back on the radio on Monday so I can be on call in the morning. Jordan's gonna cover coz he's nice."
He added, "TBH [to be honest] I think Bella might chuck me out before the nurses do. P.S. I know it's always mentioned by f****** hell we're lucky that so many brilliant people work for the NHS. I've never not amazed by them. They've all been so kind to a very anxious patient today."
Jordan also touched on the situation in an Instagram post, sharing a picture of himself up early and writing, "Called in last min. See you on BBC Radio 1 at 7am."
Greg has previously opened up about Bella's struggles with anxiety writing a piece for the i newspaper showing solidarity with others who live with a partner suffering from mental health issues. He wrote, "I want to offer solidarity to anyone who lives with or loves a person who suffers with mental health problems."
"Each person is of course different. The hope of this piece is to get you to start a dialogue with your favourite sad ghost and work out some strategies together. But please remember to make some time for yourself, you're not supposed to be anyone's therapist."
He added, "It's also important to be prepared for there to be no solution sometimes. Life isn't like that. Embrace that. Our relationship is multi-faceted and that's how it should be – I wouldn't change anything about it. Or Bella. It shouldn't be brilliant all the time, crucially, it shouldn't be awful all the time. But it should be full of love."
