TV and radio presenter Paddy McGuinness has said his charity bike ride for BBC Children In Need that he completed last week was “life-changing”.

The fundraising total exceeded £9 million and he said the challenge showed “who I am off telly”.

The Radio 2 presenter, also known for Take Me Out and Top Gear, told the PA news agency he was “absolutely physically broken” but also “the happiest person around” after the BBC Radio 2 ultra-endurance cycle challenge which saw him travel through three nations and eight counties last week.

McGuinness, 51, finished the journey on Friday and travelled 300 miles from Wales to Scotland on his dream childhood bike, a Raleigh Chopper.

The bike was painted in the colours of the charity’s mascot Pudsey and donations are still being accepted after the event.

It was announced on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Monday morning that the total was at £9,254,482 at the time.

Reflecting on the challenge, McGuinness told PA: “Absolutely, without a doubt (it has been life-changing).

“I’m pretty much like anyone else at the moment in the world, we know there’s a lot of horrific things happening, and I’m a kind of person, I wake up in the morning, sort the kids out, and once they’ve gone to school, have a look at the news, see what’s going on, social media, and pretty much we always see negative stuff, which feels like that’s all that’s out there.

“But on day one, when I saw the streets lined and it got bigger and bigger and bigger, it really brought it home that actually everyone still gets on, and everyone still mucks in together as human beings and it just really spurred me on.

“And honestly, you say about life-changing, it really was. I wish I could give everybody that feeling that I had when I was out and about on those roads, being absolutely physically broken but being the happiest person around at the same time.”

Paddy: The Ride Of My Life documentary to air after fundraiser

A documentary titled Paddy: The Ride Of My Life will show the Farnworth-born presenter’s journey with McGuinness saying viewers would see a different side to him as he is normally a “heightened version” of himself on TV.

He added: “When I did my radio show on Sunday and they said the documentary’s on, on Tuesday night, 8pm on BBC One, I actually said I’m really looking forward to seeing that, because I cannot remember anything.

“So for me personally it’s going to be amazing, because I’ll watch that and I’ll probably have tears in my eyes at actually just seeing those people, but from a different angle, because I’m high fiving everyone as I’m going past.

“So for me, there were some builders I went past, and I just had a bit of fun with them, and they put it on TikTok, and that’s gone viral, where I was telling them to hurry up and build this wall, but what I’m saying is I totally forgot that I saw some builders, and I had a laugh with them, and I carried on riding, totally forgot about it.

“So things like that I’m going to love watching back, because you’re like in the eye of an amazing, beautiful storm, if that makes sense.

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“I think on telly, I’ve been doing the job for over 20 years now, you’re kind of a hybrid heightened version of your real self, because that’s what performing is all about.

“And within the documentary, when I’ve been doing this sort of challenge, I think people have seen who I am off telly as well now, which has been nice.

“It’s been refreshing for me as well, really, but it’s just still not fully sank in with me.”

The documentary of Paddy McGuinness’s Radio 2’s ultra endurance cycle challenge for BBC Children In Need, Paddy: The Ride Of My Life, will air on Tuesday, November 19 at 8pm on BBC One.