Pilgrimage star Jay McGuinness has revealed the heart-wrenching reason he ‘hates’ crying over The Wanted bandmate Tom Parker’s death on Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain. 

The 34-year-old lost his close friend Tom in March 2022 after a battle with brain cancer.  

Jay is one of the seven celebrities all of different beliefs who are exploring their faith in the new three-part series on BBC Two, which hit our screens on Sunday night. 

And the popstar touched upon talking about Tom on the show during a chat about his experience on the new programme with Ranvir Singh, 47, and Richard Madeley, 68, on Good Morning Britain. 

Stage star Jay said: ‘It’s hard isn’t it, especially with grief, often there is a lot of shame with grieving publicly. 

‘It’s easy to feel like “I don’t want to cry” and all that sort of thing, and I hate the idea of crying. 

Pilgrimage’s Jay McGuinness reveals the heart-wrenching reason he ‘hates’ crying over The Wanted bandmate’s death – and his shame about grieving on new BBC show

Tom Parker (pictured) pᴀssed away in March 2022 after a battle with an aggressive and rare form of brain cancer grade IV glioblastoma 

Jay is one of the seven celebrities taking part in BBC Two’s Pilgrimage 

‘I am also considering Tom’s family, friends, wife and kids every time I’m talking about him.

‘Whether I’m asked about him or not. 

‘That’s a reminder. That’s something that could be painful, could be on the wrong day to hear about it. 

‘I want people to remember he was a mᴀssive life force. He was hilarious.

‘He’ll be laughing his ᴀss off at me now if I say something stupid. 

‘I want people to remember the good, as well as how things ended.’

Jay broke down in tears about the loss of Tom during an episode of Pilgrimage. 

Episode two saw Jay, who was raised Catholic but is now agnostic, discussing his thoughts on what happens after death, which led on to talking about Tom. 

Jay pictured with his The Wanted bandmates (pictured left to right)  – Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes, Tom Parker, Max George  

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The former Strictly star opened up about Tom to his co-star Helen Lederer, 70. 

Just moments after Helen told Jay that she gets a sense of her mum being with her after losing her, an emotional Jay said: ‘One second. I’m just going to have a little cry in the toilet.’ 

After her returned, Jay said of Tom: ‘So they knew it was serious quite quickly. 

‘And erm, there’s not really lots you can do.’

Helen asked: ‘Did it make you think a person is here… and what happens to you when that person is not there?’

Jay couldn’t hold back his emotions and put his head in his hand and went on the reply: ‘I think it felt really senseless.’

‘Did that make you believe less in God?,’ Helen asked.  

‘I think as much as you can be, I’m agnostic. I’m really open to the idea that there’s something, but I haven’t got a clue. 

Tom shared his diagnosis of terminal brain cancer with fans in October 2020, revealing he had an inoperable tumour.

At the time, he posted a heartfelt message alongside a pH๏τo of himself with his wife Kelsey and daughter Aurelia Rose: ‘Hey guys, you know that we’ve both been quiet on social media for a few weeks and it’s time to tell you why. 

‘There’s no easy way to say this but I’ve sadly been diagnosed with a brain tumour and I’m already undergoing treatment.

‘We decided, after a lot of thought, that rather than hiding away and trying to keep it a secret, we would do one interview where we could lay out all the details and let everyone know the facts in our own way.

‘We are all absolutely devastated but we are gonna fight this all the way. We don’t want your sadness, we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options.

‘It’s gonna be a tough battle but with everyone’s love and support we are going to beat this. Tom and Kelsey xxx.’

Jay is joined by Helen Lederer, Daliso Chaponda, Harry Clark, Jeff Brazier, Nelufar Hedayat and Stef Reid on the show. 

Pilgrimage: The Road Through The Alps airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.