Joel Dommett has shared a startling experience from his attempt at conquering the 2025 London Marathon, revealing he woke up in an ambulance after collapsing during the race. The comedian and Masked Singer host, aged 39, was among many participants taking to the streets of London for the iconic event.
Before setting off, Joel had outlined an intense schedule: performing stand-up comedy in Leeds on Saturday evening before blazing back to London to tackle Sunday's marathon. His target was to complete the run in under three hours and reward himself with an ice-cold bath post-race.
The television favourite even had plans to shoot for a project later on that very Sunday but had to press pause when things took a turn for the worse mid-run. Those tracking Joel's progress online were left puzzled when his updates ceased past the 15-mile mark.
Joel later disclosed on Instagram that he lost consciousness around mile 17, leading to emergency intervention. Despite the scare, the resilient TV personality somehow soldiered on to finish the marathon, taking to Instagram to detail the harrowing ordeal.
Posting on Instagram after eventually crossing the finish line, Joel recounted: "Not the race I expected! I fainted at mile 17 - don't really remember much but I woke up in an ambulance!", reports the Mirror.
He expressed his gratitude saying: "Thanks to Frankie and Barry for being amazing. I really wanted to finish it. After a few hours my pulse was back and I got going again at a very different pace but really got to soak it all in. Proud of myself for finishing."
Earlier on, images captured Joel receiving support from two mates as he powered through the Canary Wharf part of the marathon route. Additional pictures showed him visibly in discomfort post-finishing line.
Joel completed the marathon with a time of 6 hours, 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Snaps reveal him beaming with a medal and a wide grin at the finish line but grimacing as he stepped away from the marathon excitement.
Before hitting the pavement, Joel had called on supporters to contribute to his selected charity.
On his fundraiser page, he penned: "I am challenging myself to run a sub 3 hour London Marathon this year before I reach 40 years old (eeeek! ). I'm doing it to raise vital funds and awareness of Brain Tumour Support."
Elaborating on why he chose the charity, he added: "[Brain Tumour Support is] a charity close to our family's hearts after they supported my wife Hannah following her mum's brain tumour diagnosis. Anything you can donate will be so appreciated, thank you so much."
In the lead-up to the event, Joel posted a snapshot alongside McFly's drummer Harry Judd, ready to face the challenge together. He captioned it: "HERE WE GOOOO! Pleasure to run with this dude @harryjudd."
Following his announcement that he'd crossed the finish line, Joel received a deluge of supportive messages from fans. One supporter said: "Sorry your race didn't go to plan, hope you still make the schedule and get to your gig!".
'This Morning' frontman Ben Shephard dropped a line too: "What a challenge and awesome you got back up and finished! !" Meanwhile, telly favourite Nicky Chapman also left a note: "But you did it! ! Well done for finishing and now take it easy."
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