X Factor host Dermot O'Leary has posted a touching tribute to his Irish-born parents as he paid a final visit to his childhood home in Colchester.
The 44-year-old, who has dual Irish and British citizenship, shared a photograph on Instagram of his mother Marie and father Sean outside the house he grew up in, saying that they were moving back to Ireland.
He told his 337,000 Instagram followers: "Squeezed in a last visit and supper to O'Leary HQ before Mam and Dad take the trip back to Wexford.
"They've loved it here. Since they've moved in '68 the people have been nothing but kind, welcoming and generous to them in a time when it wasn't easy to be Irish in Britain. But, home calls."
O'Leary then went on to thank his parents for everything they have done for him, writing: "So thanks Maria and Sean, for being brave enough to pack up as kids, leave your homes, loved ones and move somewhere no one knows you.
In a nice touch, he also wrote: "Here's to all our parents, and what they do for us.
"Your daughter has a PHD, your son . . . well he talks out loud for a living, but let's gloss over that."
He added: "Est 1968, with a final supper of home grown potatoes, obvs, and one last wistful gaze at those beautiful big Essex/Suffolk skies. Here's to act three. X."
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