Cliff Richard has revealed that Daniel O’Donnell and his wife Majella helped him through one of the most difficult times in his life.
Cliff spoke about the support he received from his Irish friends during his struggles with sexual assault allegations and the privacy court battle against the BBC, for which he was recently awarded £210,000.
The Donegal singer and his wife were among the first people to reach out to him.
Speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan on RTE Radio one, he said: “They were amongst the group of people who emailed me and said, ‘Look, we think you probably should be on your own’.
Sir Cliff Richard’s charity recorded a £100,000 boost after he was cleared of historic sex abuse allegations
“And I emailed them back saying, ‘No, please, I don’t want to be on my own.’”
He said that their presence was of great comfort to him.
The 77 year old musician also spoke about how he never felt alone.
He said: “My faith, my fans, my friends, my family, they never left me alone.
“I never was ever alone, all that period.”
Cliff also said that during the times of great distress, he would often turn to God.
He became an active Christian in 1964, and began to record contemporary Christian music.
He said that when his friends stayed over, he would find himself alone after they had all gone to bed, but he never felt lonely.
“I was always able to speak to God, pour my heart out, and I think that was very good for me.”
Cliff also spoke about how forgiveness, something he had known from his Christian faith, helped heal his heart.
He said that he had forgiven his accuser very early on.
“For 22 months and two days I didn’t sleep for more than maybe an average of two hours or two and a half hours.
“And I woke up the third night, I thought, ‘I don’t know how to do this. Because I’m beginning to hate…’ And I forgave him.”
He said that while the accuser wouldn’t have known that he had been forgiven, it was really for Cliff’s benefit that he forgave him.
“I felt better not having that hate burning in my heart anymore.”
