Stephen Mulhern urged to ‘stay strong’ after emotional Royal Variety Performance

Stephen Mulhern has paid tribute to his late father while appearing on stage at the Royal Variety Performance 2024 in an emotional moment.

Last month, it was announced that the TV presenter’s father had died.

A representative told Metro that Stephen had endured ‘an incredibly tough time over the past few weeks’, as the statement continued: ‘His beloved father recently passed away which has hit him hard and has been understandably very stressful.’

The 47-year-old also recently underwent a medical procedure, and had to be taken to hospital ‘as a precaution’ after having a few drinks following his anaesthetic.

On Sunday night, ITV aired this year’s Royal Variety Performance, which was hosted by Alan Carr and Amanda Holden and featured performances from Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sir Elton John and Eurovision winner Nemo.

Deal or No Deal presenter Stephen took to the stage during the festivities at the Royal Albert Hall to perform some magic, seemingly levitating Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda into the air.

Beforehand, he referenced his late grandfather, stating: ‘Well, there’s a reason I do this trick, I don’t want to bring the atmosphere down, but my grandad, he taught me how to do this trick when I was just 11 years old. Sadly, my grandad passed away two weeks ago.’

Stephen wowed the audience with his magic trick (Picture: Matt Crossick/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Amanda was Stephen’s volunteer as she levitated in the air (Picture: ITV)

Alan Carr looked positively flabbergasted (Picture: ITV)

At this point, loud music started blaring and streamers burst onto the stage in a shocking gag, as Stephen jokingly exclaimed: ‘Stop this! That was the wrong time, my friend! What the hell were you thinking?!’

Then, as his performance came to a close, the presenter said sincerely: ‘That was for you dad.’

Stephen received support from fans on social media following the performance at the historic London venue, with one Instagram user called Chris commenting: ‘Had to wipe a tear away when you said, “That’s for you dad!” Not many people will understand that moment.’

‘That was amazing💓 your dad would be so unbelievably proud of you, and we sure all are,’ Johanna added.

Stephen shook hands with King Charles as he met the royal at the star-studded show (Picture: ITV/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The star received a lot of support from fans after his tribute (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

‘Awww what a lovely tribute to your dad Stephen he would be so proud of you,’ Suzi wrote, while Amy also shared: ‘Well done! What a way to honour your Dad. Sending you lots of love 💕.’

In the recent statement that was sent regarding Stephen’s family loss and health, it read: ‘Stephen has had an incredibly tough time over the past few weeks. His beloved father recently passed away which has hit him hard and has been understandably very stressful.

‘In addition, he had a procedure which took place yesterday (Wednesday). Following the anaesthetic that was administered, he had a few drinks which made him unwell, and he was taken in to hospital as a precaution.’

He had been due to host The Big Soap Quiz to mark the end of the year, but the quiz will instead be overseen by Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay.

You can watch the 2024 Royal Variety Performance on ITVX.

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