Sara Cox broke down in tears when she hit the £1 million mark with her gruelling Children In Need challenge.
The BBC Radio 2 DJ is currently on day three of the 135-mile Great Northern Marathon Challenge and plans to cover 28 miles on Wednesday from Wolsingham to Richmond.
After a sleepless night, she admitted she was “really, really struggling” and had resorted to walking backwards to ease the pain in her legs.
Cox started crying when radio host Scott Mills revealed live on air that she has raised an incredible £1,002,869 for charity so far.
The sobbing presenter hailed Radio 2 listeners for their support, exclaiming: “Oh my god. One million two thousand…we’ve done a million! Oh my god. That’s massive, thank you.
“You have completely broken me everybody who has donated, Thank you so much. Oh, gosh. I can’t believe it! That is so generous. Every fiver, every tenner. It all makes a massive difference.”
Turning to the camera crew and a group of her supporters, she said: “Can we have a cheer for all the amazing people donating please?”
The broadcaster added: “Gosh, that’s a lot - over a million! It took me three times to pass my GCSE maths but even I know that.”
She also admitted she was feeling the pain on day three, confessing. “If I'm honest, I’m really, really struggling this morning."
Mills replied: “I really feel for her. She needs all the help she can get.”
Cox became emotional again when she heard the Radio 2 family’s special cover of Five’s 1999 hit single Keep On Movin’ for her challenge.
“Don’t be nice to me, because you know I’ll be doing some ugly-crying by the side of the road,” she said after the rendition was played.
“They promised me undulating today, that was a lie! This ain’t undulating - it’s mountainous!
“I’ve got the laughy-cries, I heard Peter Kay’s message which was amazing, Jo Whiley taking part in a Five song just gave me a real boost, it can't have come naturally, so thank you Jo.”
Cox’s challenge spans four counties — Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire — and marks Radio 2’s longest-ever Children In Need expedition.
She is completing it entirely on foot, with no vehicles allowed.
She’ll run, jog and walk all the way to Pudsey, near Leeds, having started in Kielder Forest on the Scottish borders back on Monday.
Kicking off the mission in Hexham on Monday, Cox was cheered on by locals — including a bagpiper and a herd of alpacas — as she began the first leg of her journey.
On Tuesday, fellow presenter Vernon Kay broke the news live on air that donations had reached a staggering £439,225.
A slew of celebrities shared their support for Cox on Wednesday morning.
Comedian Peter Kay said: “This, what you’re doing now is a massive challenge - huge! I thought Paddy [McGuinness] and Vernon [Kay] had it hard, but you’re taking it to the next level! What’s next, Scott Mills skipping up the M1?
“Your poor feet! Listen, whenever you’re up against it, when you feel like you can’t go on, and the tops of your legs are chafing, just think of Children in Need and what it means.”
McGuinness - who raised £7 million with his Children In Need ultra endurance cycle challenge last year - said his message is “not so much for Sara, it's for everyone else - people power”.
“When I did my challenge, that's what got me through, and you won't realise it, you might be looking on the live tracker and you know Sara's coming through your town and you might think ‘she'll be alright’ - get out,” he said.
“Get out, support her, it's so important. Whether you donate or not, get out, get on the road, cheer her on. People power - that's what got me over the line.
“She's right in the eye-of-the-storm now, she's got through the exciting of the first day, and then it slowly dawns on you, when you're on the the roads on your own, it's quiet, it's cold, it's raining.
“You feel a bit dejected, but you see someone on the side of the road, they smile and it carries you through.”
Historian Louis Theroux also expressed his support, saying: “Somebody told me you’re raising money by doing a long run. Er, wow, congratulations.
“I ran once, for a bus. It was about 30 years ago and it was hard, so I can’t imagine what travelling 135 miles over 5 days - from Kielder Forrest to Pudsey in Leeds - must be like. Quite tiring.
“Listen, it’s all up here, it’s mental. Keep battling, you’re doing it for a great cause. You have my utmost admiration. Keep it up. Over and out.”
