{"id":4958,"date":"2025-06-15T09:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T09:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=4958"},"modified":"2025-06-17T06:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T06:46:00","slug":"blankety-blank-pays-tribute-to-contestant-who-died-months-before-his-episode-aired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/15\/blankety-blank-pays-tribute-to-contestant-who-died-months-before-his-episode-aired\/","title":{"rendered":"Blankety Blank pays tribute to contestant who died months before his episode aired"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T52S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/06\/15\/10\/99391213-0-image-a-61_1749979317498.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-06-15T10:21:43+0100″,”description”:”Blankety Blank viewers emotional after discovering that contestant Nathanael Hill had sadly passed away filming the episode.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/06\/15\/6828597495897801266\/480x270_MP4_6828597495897801266.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480}<\/p>\n

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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Blankety Blank fans have expressed their sadness after discovering that a contestant who won the show died shortly before his episode was broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>First airing in 1979, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/09\/30\/bradley-walsh-blankety-blank-fall-19583337\/\">the comedy game show<\/a> sees contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panellists to fill-in-the-blank questions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2020\/09\/16\/blankety-blank-set-to-return-after-18-years-with-the-chases-bradley-walsh-at-the-helm-13282786\/\">It was revived in 2021<\/a>, with the current version being hosted by <a data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/bradley-walsh\/\">Bradley Walsh<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On the latest episode of the show, the famous panellists were Jack Dee, <a data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/rob-beckett\/\">Rob Beckett<\/a>, Lucy Beaumont, <a data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/steph-mcgovern\/\">Steph McGovern<\/a>, Kelly Holmes and Omid Djalili.<\/p>\n<p>One of the contestants was Nathanael Hill from Kirkby, who eventually took out the win.<\/p>\n<p>However, at the conclusion, viewers were <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/05\/race-across-world-fans-moved-episode-honours-sam-gardiner-death-aged-24-23335231\/\">shocked to learn he had since died<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_255628858-d0c7.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23417893\" alt=\"BBC videograb. Blankety Blank 14th June 2025. Contestant Nathanael Hill\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Nathanael Hill won the BBC game show (Picture: BBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_255628856-5215.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23417894\" alt=\"BBC videograb. Blankety Blank 14th June 2025. Contestant Nathanael Hill\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>He spoke about his prosthetic leg on the programme (Picture: BBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the credits, a tribute popped up that revealed he\u2019d died a few months ago.<\/p>\n<p>Showing a photo of him riding a horse, the caption read: \u2018Nathanael Hill 1985 – 2025.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Soon after those tuning in shared their own tributes online.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Who knew you could get sad at the end of an episode of Blankety Blank? RIP Nathanael,\u2019 Andie shared on X.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Poor Nathanael. RIP,\u2019 Paul shared.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018RIP Nathanael \ud83d\ude22 Fly high,\u2019 Di added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_255628859-7348.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23417890\" alt=\"BBC videograb. Blankety Blank 14th June 2025. Contestant Nathanael Hill\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>As the credits rolled, the BBC shared this tribute (Picture: BBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A report from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/tv\/bbc-blankety-blank-viewers-emotional-31859349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Liverpool Echo<\/a> explained that Hill died aged 39 in April this year.<\/p>\n<p>A former officer in the air force, Hill had completed six tours of Iraq, four tours of Afghanistan and worked on Operation Red Flag.<\/p>\n<p>However, while in south-central Asia, he was injured by shrapnel from a roadside bomb and was then medically discharged.<\/p>\n<p>Four years later he was diagnosed with late-onset type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n<p>During the pandemic doctors discovered a blood clot in his leg, with Hill then battling three bouts of sepsis before having an above-knee amputation in October 2022.<\/p>\n<p>After that Hill, a doting dad, began coaching and got back into triathlons and had aspirations to represent Team GB at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"861\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_255627829-d9b0.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23417887\" alt=\"Collect photo: Nathanael Hill\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Hill had been working towards representing Team GB at the 2028 LA Paralympics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018If I get to represent Team GB it would just be a full circle. It would be a swan song for me,\u2019 he told the publication.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My last engagement for the Air Force was opening the London 2012 Olympics games and the 2023 Olympics is going to be in LA, America, where I was recognised for saving two American officers’ lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Now, I can be seen as overcoming this next challenge and to be competing in their country.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>His cause of death has not been revealed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Blankety Blank is streaming on BBC iPlayer.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T52S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/06\/15\/10\/99391213-0-image-a-61_1749979317498.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-06-15T10:21:43+0100″,”description”:”Blankety Blank viewers emotional after discovering that contestant Nathanael Hill had sadly passed away filming the episode.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/06\/15\/6828597495897801266\/480x270_MP4_6828597495897801266.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) { if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4965,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958\/revisions\/4965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}