Jack Whitehall was ‘terrified’ he had given his 80-year-old father coronavirus
‘It was a very scary couple of weeks’, says comedian
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jack Whitehall has revealed he was “terrified” he had given his 80-year-old father coronavirus during the first few weeks of lockdown.
The comedian, who often appears alongside his father Michael on television, developed symptoms of Covid-19 shortly after lockdown began in March.
The 31-year-old had recently visited his parents for dinner but said he followed government guidelines and self-isolated as soon as he realised he was unwell.
Despite following the rules, Whitehall said he felt overwhelmed by the possibility that he could have infected his father.
“We went over for dinner as the lockdown was just about to start,” he told the Radio Times. “I have had Covid. I had it the first week of the lockdown. I had every symptom, the whole situation. “I had it quite badly, and then the rest of the people in my household had it as well.”
Whitehall continued: “At that point, I was absolutely zero contact. But I was really terrified that I’d seen Michael the week before and had no idea that I had it.
“It was a very scary couple of weeks, not wanting to hear him cough on the other end of the phone.”
The Fresh Meat star is celebrating Father's Day with a new reality TV show on BBC One, officially titled Jack Whitehall's Father's Day. The show will see Whitehall sit on the pavement of his parents’ house, while his father sits in the doorway and they reminisce over old family photos and videos.
The comedian said he hopes the show can prove families can still spend time together despite being physically apart due to social distancing.
“I realise that a lot of people would have been going through that, and a lot of people are experiencing this right now, and how scared they must be,” he explained.
”That feeling that you could give it to someone you love is totally overwhelming. That's part of the reason for wanting to do this show. It's showing people that you can still have that relationship from a distance.
“People love our relationship and see us as being close, but we are not going to be able to be close for a long time because of this.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments