Simon Thomas has revealed his father has died at the age of 78.

The former Sky Sports presenter lost his wife Gemma to leukaemia less than three years ago.

Sharing a photo of his parents on Twitter, Thomas wrote: “God Bless you Dad. You touched so many lives, but most of all mine and my precious family’s.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better dad. Love you old boy. 16/12/41-29/05/20.”

Thomas’s wife Gemma died in November 2017, just three days after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow.

He has said her death was “the biggest test” of his faith, and that telling their young son Ethan about his mother was “the most crushing, brutal thing you will ever have to say to anyone”.