Roman Kemp breaks down on air after death of 'best friend' Joe Lyons

Roman Kemp
(Image credit: John Phillips/Getty Images)

Capital Breakfast host Roman Kemp was left emotional after discussing the passing of producer and friend Joe Lyons.

Roman Kemp broke down in tears after returning to work on Monday, as he spoke about the late Joe Lyons.

Joe had been a producer for Capital, and Roman described him as one of the team's "best friends".

The cause of death is not publicly known, but Roman revealed it was "very sudden".

Opening up, he said, "Last Tuesday, very suddenly, we lost one of our best friends. Our producer Joe, he was a member of the Capital Breakfast family.

"We are trying to process this all together. We wanted to share this news with you."

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He went on to pay tribute to the producer, adding, "Joe had worked for Global, the parent company, for nine years.

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"He was the very first person I met when I walked through the door. I remember thinking he was a bit of a Del Boy.

"He was with me right from my very first show. He taught me everything. I don’t know if I'd be sitting in a radio studio without him."

"He’s the person I’d sit here and rinse constantly.  He loved dogs. Obsessed with his daily step count. Never ironed his clothes. He loved his family so much. His dad Ivan, his mum Celia, his sister Lou."

Roman ended his tribute by saying, "He did love his friends… his fans, he did have fans. The thing he loved most of all was doing this show, you listening.

"He was like a genius coming up with these ideas. He was driven by the reaction from you every day."

Capital Breakfast co-presenter Vick Hope also shared a sweet tribute on Instagram, describing Joe as "My special, magical, beautiful friend".

Kate Middleton has since teamed up with Roman Kemp for a Shaping Us project which looks at early years and mental health.

Lucy Buglass
Digital Writer

Lucy Buglass is a Digital Writer for What's on TV, Goodto.com, and Woman&Home. After finishing her degree in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University she moved to London to begin her career. She's passionate about entertainment and spends most of her free time watching Netflix series, BBC dramas, or going to the cinema to catch the latest film releases.