Vernon Kay says Ricky Hatton's death has 'hit' him as he shares friend's touching act

Vernon Kay has spoken out about his fond memories of the late boxer Ricky Hatton, who died aged 45 on Sunday. The BBC Radio 2 host is one of many who have paid tribute to the former world champion, following his family's heartbreaking announcement of his death.

During a chat with Jeremy Vineon his mid-morning programme on Monday, the 51-year-old revealed details about the encounters he'd enjoyed with Ricky through the years.

After his colleague mentioned that he'd be discussing the boxer's death on his show, Vernon responded: "Yeah, I haven't mentioned that, the passing of Ricky Hatton this morning, because it's a tough one for many people."

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He continued: "And from my personal experience of meeting him, in personal and entertaining environments, at parties and social gatherings and stuff, Ricky was always, always, the one who had a conversation with you, but he knew you, he knew what you were up to.

"He would always ask family questions as well, and he was such an entertaining fella."

Vernon continued: "When I saw the news, it hit me because he was such a lovely bloke and all the tributes that I've read all just say exactly the same thing."

After Ricky was discovered dead at his Manchester home on Sunday, a Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "There are not currently believed to be any suspicious circumstances."

His relatives later said of the sportsman in a statement: "He had a heart as big as his smile, and his kindness, humour and loyalty touched everyone who was lucky enough to know him.

"As a family, our loss is immeasurable, and words cannot truly capture the pain we feel. Yet in the midst of our grief, we have been deeply moved by the overwhelming outpouring of love and support.

"Richard's memory will forever remain in our hearts, in the hearts of his fans, and in the sport he loved so dearly."

Last year, the boxer showed fans a different side to him when he took part in ITV's Dancing On Ice.

During the programme, the sportsman was teamed up with professional ice skater Robin Johnstone, and although they were knocked out of the contest in week one, they remained close.

Discussing Ricky's death with The Mirror, Robin said she was "utterly devastated".

"He was a good friend. No part of me expected this," she added.

"He was chatting to me not long ago about preparing for his big fight. He was excited, in good form, in training mode and looking forward to the future."

She went on to say: "We remained very close after partnering on Dancing on Ice last year. We'd speak every couple of weeks. We WhatsApped a week or two ago and he'd check in with my husband Andy (Buchanan) and I all the time.

"Ricky was such a sweet man. So caring and funny. He just loved a joke – including the odd dad joke. Out of all my partners on the show, he's the one I kept in touch with the most."

While appearing on the programme, he also became close to his fellow contestant Claire Sweeney, who he went on to date for several months.

Speaking about their break up just before the festive season, the actress told MailOnline: "I'm great - we're still friends, we were friends, we dated and now we're friends again."