Roman Kemp bravely opens up about the phone call that ‘saved his life’

Roman Kemp has done so much for mental health awareness

During the penultimate episode of the BBC reality series, Roman spoke to his sister Harley about his battle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD in more recent years.

The 32-year-old TV and radio personality said that he couldn’t make it without the support of his sister and his mum.

“It was a bad time in my life. I remember one moment in particular where it was really bad”, he told the camera.

“I just remember my mum passing the phone to Harley and Harley trying to just talk to me, just to distract me and keep me on the phone so that my mum could get in the car and drive to me”, he confessed.

“I don’t know if I ever have actually spoken to Harley about that call. What I do know is that the conversation between my mum and Harley might have saved my life on that day”, Kemp added as he was tearing up.

Teams were travelling to Medellin in Colombia during a challenging leg of the race in the latest episode.

And this is when Roman and his sister Harley reflected on that difficult night for him.

His sister leaned in to hug him when he said, “I can’t even remember what the conversation was, but I knew that I was safe if I stayed on the phone. And I feel bad because I never really said thanks for that."

Fans were deeply moved by this moment, while praising the siblings for their courage in being candid about their struggles with mental health.

For several years, Roman has raised awareness for mental health, especially among men.

In 2020, his closest friend, producer Joe Lyons, died by suicide, which deeply impacted him. He also created documentaries like The Fight for Young Lives and Our Silent Emergency.