TV and radio presenter Vernon Kay has opened up about a terrifying childhood moment when he saved his younger brother from drowning during a family holiday in Portugal.
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The BBC Radio 2 host recalled the dramatic incident while reflecting on some of his wildest travel memories. Kay said the near-disaster happened during a package holiday in Praia da Luz in the Algarve when he and his extended family traveled abroad together for one of their first big overseas vacations.
“One time I saved my brother from drowning,” Kay revealed. “He dived in the pool and started panicking, so he owes me one there.”
The broadcaster painted a vivid picture of the holiday, which included his parents, relatives, and younger brother Steven all sharing a villa in the Portuguese sunshine. Kay joked that the family wandered around “looking like ice creams” because they wore so much sunscreen during the trip.
And That’s Not The Only Notable Holiday Event Vernon Kay Remembers
The scary pool incident clearly stuck with him decades later. Kay also remembered the trip for another hilarious reason: his mother tried her first cigarette on her 40th birthday.
“She smoked two drags and coughed for the rest of the night,” he said.
The former Family Fortunes presenter didn’t stop there. He also shared several travel horror stories from his years working around the globe. Kay recalled suffering brutal food poisoning in Marrakesh that left him bedridden for weeks with hallucinations, hot sweats, and vomiting.
He also described a frightening moment during a sailing trip in Turkey with wife Tess Daly when the couple accidentally caught a highly toxic puffer fish while fishing off the side of a boat. According to Kay, the captain immediately warned them not to touch it.
The presenter even revisited a painful teenage skiing accident in Italy. Kay said he suffered a concussion after smashing his head on an icy slope during a school trip in the 1980s, long before helmets became standard safety gear.
Still, it’s safe to say his younger brother also hasn’t forgotten that pool rescue.