Roman Kemp shares heartbreaking message to friend on fifth anniversary of death

Roman Kemp has issued a moving tribute to his pal on the fifth anniversary of his death. The broadcaster was left utterly heartbroken in 2020 when he was informed that Joe Lyons, his close friend and the producer of his Capital FM Breakfast show, had sadly died at the age of just 31.

Broadcaster Roman noticed that Joe hadn't arrived at work on August 4, and texted his pal: "Let me know you're ok," believing he had slept through his alarm. However, as the morning went on, staff became concerned about Joe, with a member of the team heading over to his home to check in on him.

While still on air, Roman was informed by an executive producer that Joe was "in the house." Speaking on his BBC documentary, Our Silent Emergency, 32-year-old Roman said: "I knew. I said, 'Is he gone?' She said, 'Yeah, he's gone.'" In the wake of Joe's death, his family set up Joe's Buddy Line, offering emotional and mental health support to people from primary school, right through to university.

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On Monday, the fifth anniversary of Joe's death, Roman shared a moving tribute on his Instagram Story. Sharing a clip of Joe in the studio, watching a Tottenham football match, with Joe offering commentary, the late producer was seen in his element.

Captioning his post, Roman said: "Can't believe it's been 5 years since you've been gone bud, still one of the best commentators I've ever heard. Even if we were meant to be running a national radio show @joesbuddyline." Roman and Joe first met nine years ago, and instantly formed a close friendship and spent almost every day together.

The last time that the presenter saw Joe was on a sunny day, when they spent time together on Clapham Common shortly after the first lockdown. Unbeknownst to Roman, Joe had been secretly dealing with his mental health.

Since Joe's death, Roman has become an advocate for men's mental health and even opened up about his own struggles, inspiring millions to reach out and speak to friends, family and professionals.

Four years after Joe's death, Roman made the decision to step back from his position on Capital FM's Breakfast show, and explained that part of his decision related to finding out about his pal while at work. He previously told the Mirror about his decision: "I actually think that a big decision in wanting to do it and wanting to move on and feeling like I need to close this chapter isn't anything to do with radio or the occupation."

He went on to explain: "It's to do what happened for me. That sounds wild, but I mean it, it's not normal. Imagine a tragedy happened in your house, you're going to want to move. The bosses at Capital know this and I said it, it's difficult, I went through such a horrible moment in that room in that studio, four years on and I've been living that same day over and over again, without the awful event.

"For me, I'm quite ready to go 'OK, close that door now, don't keep going back living that horrible day over again. That's sad that obviously affects me but it does. Every day I walk in there and I see Joe, that's a weird thing to do."

Joe, who has been described as "the happiest person," who put others before himself, sadly took his own life. Roman said that the heartbreaking news had "ripped" his life apart.

If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch

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