Eamonn Holmes, 60, shared a rare picture of his father on social media yesterday.
The TV and radio star posted an emotional Tweet along with a black and white snap of his dad Leonard, who died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 64.
The This Morning host, who is married to his co-presenter Ruth Langsford, 59, said he “never got to say goodbye” to his father who passed away 29 years ago.
Alongside the picture of his father, Eamonn wrote, “This is my Dad who died suddenly 29 years ago.“
The picture showed a well dressed gentleman standing in front of a Belfast minivan.
In a reflective mood, the TV presenter continued: “I never got to say Goodbye.”
The curious television host, went on to ask his one million followers who they would like to bring back with the help of virtual reality technology if they had the opportunity.
He said: “New technology means we can bring someone who has passed away back into our lives via Virtual Reality.
“If you put on VR Goggles, who would you want to see, to touch, to hear again if you could, and why?”
Twitter users pondered the question for a while but many agreed that it would be bad for their mental health to bring a loved one back.
One user said: “I wouldn’t, it would never be the same as having them back and therefore probably cause more upset.”
Another added: “Me too. They’re in my heart, but VR would give me a meltdown.”
A third user said: “That wld be amazing, though I’d be concerned about how it wld affect the grieving process and wld people be able to move on. I think, now years later, it wld be amazing. Maybe not when newly grieving.”(sic)
Commenting on the picture of Eamonn’s dad another fan remarked: “So handsome. Know where you get your looks from now.”
During an appearance on This Morning two years ago, the presenter opened up about the loss of his dad, and how he struggled with panic attacks following his death.
Eamonn, who was in his early 30s when his father passed away, said he didn’t realise the attacks were associated with a mental problem at the time.
He said: “I think looking back on it, it was a result of the sudden death of my father and not being able to say goodbye to him. I associated being away from home with bad things.”