BBC North West Tonight anchor Roger Johnson was taken to medics after struggling with a "long-standing" health issue. The BBC Breakfast stand-in host had been challenged to run 26.2 miles in two weeks for this year's Children in Need campaign, despite "not being much of a runner".
Johnson explained that he has been jogging "most mornings" for the past 18 months to "stay fit and lose weight", but a historical foot injury meant he had to pull out of the event at the last minute.
Foot Problem Flares Up
Writing for the BBC, he said: "Four weeks ago, a long-standing foot problem flared up. I iced it. I raised it. The doctor gave me pills. I even had an X-ray. But it stubbornly refused to get better."
Johnson admitted he felt like he was "taking painkillers like sweets", and realised there was no way he could run the full distance to raise money for charity.
Colleagues Step In
Instead, he rallied his North West Tonight colleagues to come together and share the distance, with more than 30 of his co-workers signing up. In the end, they ran more than 160 miles between them, exceeding Johnson's initial target.
He joked: "It's taught me another lesson – if I'm asked again to do something for the cause next year, I will promise to be a little less complacent."
Other BBC Challenges
Johnson is one of many BBC stars taking part in challenges to raise money for Children in Need this year, including his Breakfast co-star Owain Wyn Evans, who will compete in the 4 Nations Cycle Challenge. Evans will pedal nearly 400 miles through Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
Morning Live presenters Gethin Jones and Michelle Ackerley, meanwhile, are taking on a musical challenge: learning to play an instrument and forming a band to raise money for the cause.
Jones said: "I'm not sure any of us realised quite what we were signing up for when we agreed to form a band! Learning an instrument is definitely a challenge, we're going to give it everything we've got and hopefully, by the time we perform in front of the nation, we'll sound something like a band! Most importantly, we're doing it to raise funds for BBC Children in Need and help make sure children and young people across the UK have someone by their side when they need it most."
