BBC's Stephen Nolan forced off air due to devastating family emergency

The Stephen Nolan Show was cut short by thirty minutes this morning following a discussion on the war in the Middle East as the presenter rushed to his mother's side

Stephen Nolan had no other choice but to leave his show earlier than usual as he responded to a huge family emergency.

Known to be at the helm of The Stephen Nolan Show, Stephen Nolan left viewers puzzled when his programme was abruptly taken off air on Tuesday morning. Typically filling the 9am to 10:30am slot, the show was cut short by half an hour following a discussion on the Middle East conflict.

Audiences were left scratching their heads when the host failed to return post the 10 o'clock BBC Radio Ulster news bulletin, and instead, a lengthier edition of the Connor Phillips Show filled the airwaves.

Moments later, Stephen then took to social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) to explain his sudden departure, revealing that he had received a call during the broadcast informing him of his mother Audrey's illness.

Posting on the digital platform, the Shankill-born host shared: "I got a phone call during the show to say my mum took ill this morning after falling overnight", reports Belfast Live. He added: "I'm just letting you all know that's why I left early. Mum will always come first."

Supporters of the show quickly rallied around the presenter, sending their well-wishes for his mother Audrey's swift recovery. While he has made no mention about his return to The Stephen Nolan Show, the Daily Mirror has reached out to the presenter's representatives at BBC Radio Ulster for a comment.

This isn't the first time Stephen Nolan has had to leave his listeners to tend to an emergency. Back in May, 2024, the 51-year-old was rushed to hospital and stand-in presenter Chris Buckler was left to share the news on his programme.

Speaking via telephone line to his radio station, Stephen disclosed that he had spent six hours in A&E, which caused him to miss his show. "I was trying to move 10 boxes of tiles. I didn't realise how heavy tiles were so they all landed on my big toe," he informed Chris and the listeners.

However, stand-in Chris and the team seemed sceptical about the "excuse." Chris quipped on air: "There is a little bit of kind of reluctance to believe any of this inside your team this morning... because they don't believe for a second that you actually do anything like physical manual labour."

"There's another front page story", Stephen had responded at the time, before explaining: "Last night I was on the ground with all of these tiles on top of me and I started thinking 'what have I done.'" Stephen revealed that the hospital visit showed "there is a wee sliver of a bone that has broken off".

The host then proceeded to commend the hospital staff, stating: "The staff were fantastic, thank you very much to all the staff up at the Ulster Hospital. It was terrifying, it really was."

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