Dan Walker admitted he had been moved to tears hours before the live Strictly Come Dancing show.
The BBC star paid tribute to his late friend Gary Speed, 10 years on from his death on Saturday morning.
Sharing a video interview, reflecting on the life and death of the former footballer, Dan admitted he "couldn't believe" it had been a decade since the one-time Wales manager took his own life.
Fans and followers rushed to respond to the star's moving tribute to Gary, reducing Dan to tears.
The broadcaster, 44, revealed in the chat with BBC Sport that the last conversation he had with his late friend had been to arrange a game of golf the coming Monday.
The next morning, a Sunday, Dan received a call from Alan Shearer while he was at church, sadly informing him of the news of Gary's death.
"You can't help asking yourself whether you could have done something different," he sadly confesses during the segment.
"Whether there's something you should have seen, or whether there were some signs that you could have helped, but I really don't think there were."
Gary took his own life at his home in Chester on November 27, 2011 aged just 42. He is survived by his wife and their two sons.
After sharing the moving video on social media, Dan was inundated with messages of support and praise for opening up and promoting talking about mental health.
"I’ve been in tears most of the morning reading your responses to the Gary Speed tribute," he later tweeted, after first sharing the moving tribute.
He added: "Please watch out for your friends & family. Talking can save a life."
Dan then went on to explain he needed to "go off and get ready to dance" in preparation for his performance on Strictly Come Dancing this evening.
"Head in a shed at the moment," he added.
Dan also paid credit to the producers of the interview and explained he had asked permission from Gary's family before he filmed anything.
"If you’ve been moved by the Gary Speed tribute today… please watch this video and post something underneath that could help or encourage someone who might be struggling," he wrote in another tweet.
"We can genuinely make a difference. Thank you for all the amazing messages."
At the time of his death, Gary was the manager of the Wales national team, after being appointed in December 2010.
As a footballer, he held the record for the most appearances in the Premier League at 535, until it was surpassed by David James.
Prior to his passing, only the former England goalkeeper and Ryan Giggs had played in more Premier League matches than Gary.
Outside of football, Gary had been happily married to wife Louise since 1996 and was a doting dad to their two children, Thomas and Edward.
An advocate for many charities, the former Newcastle United player was known by those close to him as being a "humble and modest" person - a sentiment echoed by West Ham manager David Moyes.
*If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk
