Declan Donnelly broke down in tears on his podcast after the death of his childhood hero Kevin Keegan, the football legend who died on July 20 aged 75 following a battle with stomach cancer.
Appearing on his Hanging Out podcast with TV partner Ant McPartlin, the I'm A Celebrity.. Get Me Out Of Here! star said he was not ashamed to admit he cried when he heard the news. He said Keegan meant so much to people of the North East and called him a special man whom he was lucky enough to meet on a couple of occasions.
Dec recalled the first time he encountered the Newcastle United player, saying he was around six or seven years old when he won a competition to play football with his hero. He described how Keegan joined at the end of the games, sat with each child for a photograph, and put his arm around every one of them.
Dec said that as a six-year-old boy, meeting your hero that way was simply the best, and that while people say you should never meet your heroes, Keegan was absolutely the exception.
He closed his tribute by saying he shed a tear the previous week and another that morning, calling Keegan King Kev and Special K.
Ant's tribute
McPartlin added his own memories, saying Keegan saved their club when he came back as manager and was a true legend of the game and to Newcastle United supporters.
The Geordie duo also recalled a later encounter with Keegan at a kit launch for Newcastle United at St James' Park. McPartlin said Keegan spotted them on the pitch having a photo taken and stepped in to join them, putting his arms around both of them and inviting them to take a picture together. McPartlin called him the loveliest man.
Keegan's death and family
Keegan was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer in January after being admitted to hospital with abdominal problems. His family announced his passing in a statement describing him as a double Ballon d'Or winner and a much loved husband, father and grandfather. He was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments, the statement said.
He is survived by his wife Jean, whom he met at a Doncaster fair in 1970, and their two daughters, Laura, 48, and Sarah, 44.
