Kola Bokinni has revealed the heartbreak and stress of caring for his dad while he was dying of dementia.
The Celebrity Race Across The World star opened up in an emotional scene about filming for hit comedy Ted Lasso and then going home to look after his dad.
He admitted that he had taken on the BBC One challenge show in the hope that it would help him to “heal” after his father’s death.
Ted Lasso star Kola Bokinni had shared the heartbreak of seeing the father he knew disappear to dementia before he took on Celebrity Race Across The World. But in this week’s emotional episode of the travel challenge, he opened up on how he was trying to heal from his dad’s death.
Bokinni and his cousin Mary Ellen worked on a horse farm in Argentina this week to try to boost their budget. Mary Ellen said: “These last few years, it hasn’t been an easy ride for him. I want him to really process and go through it all and I don’t think he’s done that.”
Looking at the horses, Bokinni said: “Being here makes you feel, I am not the main character of life. Life goes on whether you’re here or not, and there’s something beautiful about that.”
He explained: “Last year wasn’t the best year for me, I lost my dad. It was a long road. He had dementia for three years and it took everything from him. It was extremely stressful, going to set and then coming back to look after my dad. I think out of all our family members, I was the last one that he remembered. And then, nothing. Heartbreaking.
“You almost grieve for them while they’re still alive, when their personality is all but gone. So what I actually felt when he passed was, selfishly, a little bit of relief because I didn’t have to see him the way he was in his final days.
“I like to believe he’s at peace now. He’s not alone, he’s not in the dark any more, because that’s what the disease does to you. It puts you in the dark.”
The actor added: “I do miss him, but when this opportunity came up, it was a chance to disconnect and in a sense heal a little bit. There was something so calming about being on that horse. For a split second it took everything away, it was just me, chilling, riding a horse, and that’s what mattered.”
The teams are poised for the final leg next week, and with just the final push of the race left to go, any of them could be the winners.
After last week’s 11-hour lag for Jeff and Freddy Brazier, they managed to claw their way back into second place at just seven minutes behind first-time leaders Bokinni and Mary Ellen. The teams had actually raced each other through the streets of Tilcara on the way to the checkpoint.
Scott Mills and Sam Vaughan dropped down from first place last week to third this week, just 15 minutes behind the leaders, while even last place Kelly Brook and Jeremy Parisi will only have a 39-minute delay in setting off on the last leg.
Celebrity Race Across The World airs on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday.
