Sarah Greene believes her late husband would be proud of her TV return.
The 65-year-old presenter - who hosted 'Blue Peter' and 'Saturday Superstore', was married to BBC star Mike Smith from 1989 and took time out from her career following his death aged 59 in 2014 after complications from heart surgery.
Now, she is making a return to screens alongside Roman Kemp, 30, for BBC One's gameshow 'The Finish Line' and believes Mike would be thrilled that she is back on TV screens.
She told The Mirror: "Nine years ago my husband died and I had a very big task on my hands, because I made the decision to take on his business. It was a learning precipice. It took up a lot of my headspace.
"Offers of TV came in but for a long time I was trying to learn this new business but also feeling too raw. Only time can help that, you know when you feel ready, when you have that energy."
Saying that Mike would be "proud", she added that filming in Belfast, where he grew up, helped her to feel closer to him.
She said: "I had a few little taps on the shoulder from him."
Sarah has enjoyed working with Roman, and revealed she knows his parents Martin and Shirlie Kemp.
She said: "Roman didn’t know me. But I knew him. Or I feel I have, because of his mum and dad. I was on the show where they met, where George Michael introduced Shirlie to Martin. We had Duran Duran, Culture Club, Wham and Spandau. George later became Roman’s godfather. We were all in the same orbit."
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