TV PRESENTER Dermot O’Leary was left fighting back tears today during an emotional interview on This Morning.
The ITV host welcomed “hero” teenagers Freddie Corbett, 15, and Harley Hollingworth, 16, to the show on Thursday.
The brave pair leapt onto the railway tracks at Bolton-upon-Dearne station in South Yorkshire on Saturday to save a distressed man, with just seconds to spare before a train pulled in.
Young lad Freddie told Dermot and co-host Josie Gibson: “We saw a man sleeping in a sleeping bag and I heard a train coming and he wandered over to the tracks and he got on the tracks.
“I walked over to him and said ‘what are you doing?’, he said ‘I’m killing myself tonight’.”
He then explained that he risked his own safety and and without even thinking leapt onto the tracks with a train coming.
The schoolboy continued: “I jumped on tracks and he pushed past me and started walking towards the train and I said ‘you’re not doing that mate’.
“I picked him up and jumped him over to the side.
“I got Harley to come over and we dragged him over to the shelter and pinned him down for about an hour until help came and spoke to him about what’s been going off.”
Dermot was full of praise for the heroic lads, saying: “It’s one thing to help someone but you physically had to restrain this guy.
“When he pushed past you, what were you thinking?”
Freddie recalled: “I was just like ‘I can’t let him die’ – I’m putting myself at risk but it’s not just him and it’s not just me.
“It’s the train driver, everyone on the train and everything. People can be traumatised and it just ruins peoples lives and everyone deserves a second chance at life.”
He then explained that the man was in a “bad state” and told him not to do anything “daft”.
“You don’t think, it’s natural instincts, I just had to help him,” Freddie said.
Freddie’s father Billy also appeared on the sofa and said they were “shocked” and experienced “instant fear” when they found out what had happened.
“When we woke up in the morning it started sinking in what they had actually done – I was getting prouder and prouder,” he told viewers.
Dermot, who is dad to three-year-old Kasper with wife Dee, began to well up and started to cry as he continued to praise their brave act.
He said: “You’ve got these two feelings to reconcile as a parent – one, I can believe you put your life at risk, this is your everything.
“And then the second thing, those values and morals that you and your wife have instilled in them playing out.”
Dermot’s voice began to crack as the emotional star said: “You must be so proud.
“I feel like crying now, you must be so proud.”
Two girls were also on the platform and called the police.
The driver of the oncoming train reversed back and told the boys that help was coming.
Once the man’s care was taken over by police, Network Rail employee Gary Robinson dropped the teenagers back home.
Freddie shared: “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
The Network Rail employee Gary Robinson posted about the incident on social media.
He wrote: “Called out tonight to a male with intent to self harm on the railway.
“These two lads were his angels! Dragged him off the railway… sat with him talking ’til I got there and make no mistake, saved his life!”
The boys then explained that the man is now getting the support he needs, while they also reflected on male mental health.
Josie said: “You’ve saved somebody at their darkest hour, has it changed your views on mental health?”
Freddie added: “You don’t know what other people are going through, you should always ask and check up on people.
“Even people you don’t know if you think they are going through stuff.”
