Ugo Monye's heartbreaking regret over father's death as he made live TV appearance hours after funeral

Former England international Ugo Monye has shared his regret over his late father's death, revealing that he didn't know he was unwell until after he passed away.

The 41-year-old, who is now a popular pundit after retiring from playing, learnt of his dad Theophilus's battle with prostate cancer when one of his brothers rang him to inform him he had died in Nigeria, where he had been living and receiving care for several years, back in September 2021.

His father's care team had not passed on information about his condition "through fear and worry" and heartbreakingly, Monye, who who had not seen his dad for years, was unable to say goodbye. Due to Covid travel restrictions in Nigeria, he was unable to attend the funeral, instead watching via Zoom.

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Incredibly, just hours after the funeral, the British & Irish Lion performed on live TV as part of the cast of that year's Strictly Come Dancing. In his first live performance, which he dedicated to his father, Monye took to the dance floor with partner Oti Mabuse, finding the experience to be a welcome "distraction" from his grief.

During the show, he told the audience: "So my dad passed away a couple of weeks ago so we had his funeral this morning. During the funeral, they spoke about today being a day of celebration and that's exactly how today feels. So there's no better way of celebrating him by dancing. Tonight feels really special."

Ahead of Father's Day, the former England wing has looked back on the ordeal as he aims to raise awareness of prostate cancer symptoms by launching a new campaign encouraging early diagnosis of the disease. He also shared his regret at not knowing earlier that his father was suffering with the disease.

"I only found out he passed away with prostate cancer after he passed away," Monye told the Express. "I knew he struggled with a few different things but it was prostate cancer that ultimately took him unfortunately"

"I wish I knew earlier because more could have been done to have helped him, finding out that information in the most brutal circumstances is tough. I think some of it was perhaps shielding information to protect you but actually, you would rather just know."

In an effort to understand his family's medical history better, Ugo thoroughly investigated whether cancer was prevalent among his relatives. Thankfully, he was not found to be at an increased risk, but has since undergone a health check and is now encouraging other men to do the same.

"I think my dad was an anomaly and it's not been something that has ran throughout my family which is a blessing," he said. "That's obviously great news but that doesn't mean I want to be in any way complacent at all.

"I went for a check, I was worried, I was scared because you think, one action or one situation might mean that you find yourself in a negative situation as well, thankfully it was okay but I'm definitely due another check up."