Paddy McGuiness suddenly exits Channel 4’s Don’t Look Down for family reasons

Presenter and his wife Christine separated last year

Paddy McGuinness has left Channel 4 reality series Stand Up to Cancer: Don’t Look Down due to “family reasons”.

The comedian had served as a host and team leader on the ongoing series, which sees a number of celebrities train in the art of highwire walking in the Austrian Alps.

As well as McGuinness, the charity series also stars Beverley Callard, Anton Ferdinand, Kimberly Wyatt, Chris Hughes, David Ginola, Charley Boorman, GK Barry, Fats Timbo and Victoria Pendleton.

During Tuesday night’s (24 October) episode, McGuinness told his co-stars that he would be stepping away from the programme due to a childcare issue.

McGuinness and his wife, model and TV personality Christine, announced last year that they were separating. The couple share three children: twins Penelope and Leo, and Felicity, all of whom are autistic, with McGuinness opening up about his family life in the 2021 documentary Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism.

Speaking to his campmates during the episode of Don’t Look Down, the Take Me Out presenter said: “Unfortunately today I’ve got to go home and I might not be back for at least a week. Co-parenting… We’ve no one at all to help us with the kids. With our children, they need me or Christine there or people who are in our support network. I’ll have a hell of a lot of catching up to do when I get back.”

He also claimed that he was “gutted” to be missing the programme, though would attempt to continue training while at home, with a wire constructed in his garden.

“I’m gutted because the guys will be 10 metres up in the air and it will feel like starting again but there’s just nothing I can do about it,” he added.

Paddy McGuinness in ‘Don’t Look Down' (Channel 4)

Coronation Street star Callard also departed the show during Tuesday’s episode, having suffered a kidney injury.

“I’m going to try not to cry… At some point I damaged my kidney and I’ve seen a doctor and I can’t wear a harness, I can’t do any sport at the moment and I’ve got to go. I am broken hearted, I was loving it. I don’t want to go, I so badly don’t want to go,” she said.

Episodes of Don’t Look Down can be streamed on Channel 4.