Paddy McGuinness in tears and 'completely broken' as he reaches Scotland in Children in Need cycle challenge

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Paddy McGuinness has been feeling emotionally overwhelmed as he nears the end of a 300-mile cycling challenge.

The former Top Gear host is journeying from Wrexham in Wales to Glasgow in support of Children in Need and is encouraging Scots to join him when he reaches the finish line on Friday.

Paddy is undertaking the challenge on his dream childhood bike, the Radleigh Chopper, and people have been lining the streets along the way to cheer him on.

When gearing up for this monumental task, Paddy sought advice from cycling royalty Sir Chris Hoy, who put him through a rigorous training regime that the star admitted "pushed" him to his limits.

On Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 breakfast show yesterday (November 13), Paddy was visibly touched when he found out he had surpassed the £1m mark in donations. As Zoe revealed the staggering total of £1,000,277 raised so far, an emotional Paddy expressed his gratitude: "Thank you so much, thank you so much everyone," he said as he choked back tears.

He went on: "Oh god, I can't believe we've got to a million, I can't believe it.

"We're over a million pounds everyone!

"I'm completely broken, dejected and finished today, and it's the happiest I've ever been! And I really mean that because people power is the best tonic ever."

Yesterday, after his update with Zoe, Paddy took on one of the most challenging segments of his cycle yet, the gruelling 66-mile journey that would take him over the Scotland-England border and into Dumfries and Galloway. Reaching the village of Ecclefechan by sunset last night, he had an impressive 200 miles in the bag.

And today, Radio 2 presenter Paddy is set for an even bigger challenge, overtaking yesterday's schedule for his toughest day yet. He took off early - at 6:45am - from Ecclefechan and hopes to reach Strathhaven within 12 hours, before the day is over.

His route today started at a primary school in Ecclefechan, through Dumfries and Galloway and up into Lanarkshire. After cycling through challenging rural terrain, Paddy will face a gruelling, endless stretch of road alongside the River Annan. He will then climb 1,040 feet to Beattock, passing through Crawford and Lesmahagow, before finally arriving in Strathaven.

There, he will get a few hours of rest before an early start on the final day.

On the Radio 2 Breakfast Show this morning, Zoe spoke to Paddy again and told him that the total donated so far is £3,348,481.

Paddy who was overwhelmed with emotion and delight again, said: “We’re just starting the day off and we’re over £3 million... Wow, I keep saying this because it’s the strangest thing, I’m absolutely in bits physically and emotionally but I will miss this, I will miss this positivity, this feeling of love that everyone’s getting behind Children in Need.”

"Oh I love it, I love it so much..." Paddy expressed, continuing his thanks.

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Paddy is urging the people of Glasgow to get involved and meet him at the finish line: "The people in Scotland are amazing already, the people all across the rest of the country are still donating and I want who’s anyone in Scotland, tomorrow, and we are going to get to Glasgow, by hook or by crook, I’ll drag the bike and walk if I have to.

"I want as many in Glasgow because together people, all involved in this, you will leave a better person, you’ll feel that love. Come along tomorrow in Glasgow and let’s go out in style."

You can follow the star via his live tracker here, as well as staying up to date with the coverage on Radio 2 via Zoe Ball, Vernon Kay, Jeremey Vine, Scott Mills, Sarah Cox and Jo Whiley's shows.

Donate to Paddy McGuinness does Radio 2’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need here: www.bbc.co.uk/paddy.

Paddy: The Ride Of My Life, airs on Tuesday, November 19 at 8pm on BBC ONE. You can also hear Paddy read the CBeebies Bedtime Story at 6.50pm on Friday, November 15 on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.

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