‘It’s been life changing’: West Midlands sports presenter star Suzi Perry has unveiled her pain at losing her mum

She has been a picture of positivity since sharing her pain on social media after her mother died in early 2023 as she continues to travel the world for work.

But the popular anchor, born in Cosford in Shropshire, admits that the reality is very different and the support of the broadcaster’s team has kept her going through the toughest of times while she fronts TNT Sports’ MotoGP coverage .

“They’ve kept me working to be completely honest,” Suzi Perry told motorcycling podcast Full Chat.

“Basically I lost my mum and I have not handled it at all well. It’s been life-changing. It’s funny, you put a post out on Instagram and everyone’s like: ‘Aah, you look so happy; I love your smile’ and you’re in a hotel room crying your eyes out at night sliding down a wall. Not all the time, but these are the differences in your day and your emotions and your feelings.

“Those guys have absolutely kept me together so (the team) is really important, really important. I sometimes feel a bit guilty of only putting out one (happy) side (on Instagram). And then I think, but I am quite private. But when I lost my mum I had so many people saying: ‘How are you dealing with the grief?’ So I did do a couple of posts because I just think sometimes if you see somebody that you feel like you know that is able to get up in the morning and go to work it does help a little bit. If it did, that’s why I wanted to sort of do that.

“It’s difficult and I’d like to spend a bit more time with my dad now so being away from him I find that very difficult as well. When my mum was not very well she said: ‘I want you to go to work’. She loved watching it, she watched every single second of everything I did and she loved the bikes.”

Perry first became a familiar face covering the sport for the BBC for 13 years before TNT, formerly known as BT Sport, bought the UK TV rights in 2013. She also appeared on Channel 5’s The Gadget Show for nine years and fronted the Beeb’s Formula One coverage from 2013-15.

The Wolves football fan spends most of the season away from home with MotoGP taking in 20 rounds across the world. The next stop is Japan this weekend and the popular 54-year-old feels TV “brothers” like Gavin Emmett and Neil Hodgson make the strain of travelling easier to deal with.

“We all lean on each other because we’re together so much outside of our families,” she added during the first episode of the show’s second series which covers a wide range of topics, including her thoughts on legendary racer Valentino Rossi.

“We are actually with each other more than our families really. In all of our lives, as we get older, we’ve all had things that have gone on personally. They’ve been incredible support for me, and hopefully me for them as well - in different issues. Nat Quirk joined us a few years ago and she’s been like a sister to me. We have a lovely producer called Alannah (Fellows), a young girl who came in her mid-20s, and she’s like a daughter. It’s fantastic, it just gets you through those sort of moments.”