Vinnie Jones received a touching message from Bradley Walsh as he looked back on his life in Watford in an emotional Life Stories interview.

The ex-footballer has continued to speak openly about his grief in the year his wife Tanya, aged 53, died after a six-year battle with cancer.

In a tearful interview for Piers Mogran’s Life Stories, looked back at how the couple first met, his life in Watford and the stages of grief he went through when Tanya died at their Californian home in 2019.

In the interview, Jones said: “She might have left me in this life, but she hasn’t left me for eternity Piers.”

Jones was surprised with a touching video message from Watford actor Bradley Walsh, who recalled knowing Jones since his teens and remembering him coming into the dressing room each week with “a bag full of swag, selling it to the boys”.

Walsh added: “He’s never changed, and he’s never stopped. He’s the most generous man in Watford and surrounding areas. We’re all so proud of him.”

Jones first met Tanya at Watford Cricket Club when she was 12 and he was 13. But since he attended a school in Abbots Langley and Tanya went to another school, the two did not keep in touch.

Forward into his career as he played for Chelsea in 1991, Jones spotted a familiar face as his neighbour of his new bachelors’ pad in Watford.

At the time Tanya was married to Watford defender Steve Terry, but they soon split apart.

Jones said: “I looked out the front window and she was roller skating. Each day I think her cut down shorts got shorter and shorter.

“It was strange cause it was a case on how do I connect? I used to drink in a pub in Hemel called the Venture and I think I got enough courage up one night to go home early and knocked on the door.”

He recalled as her daughter was crying, he made himself comfortable, turned the kettle and joked that she was “horrified” to see him sat down with a “big grin and a cup of tea”.

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While much of the interview looked back at the relationship fondly, Jones discussed the moments his wife passed away and said: “They said to us maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe months. I was on my knees howling.

“I knew the pain was horrific. I knew it was time to stop and I begged the nurse to stop it.”

During the interview, he came to the conclusion that he would not remarry, saying that his marriage was “the perfect one”.

On the weekend, Jones took to twitter to share the last card he received from Tanya.

The card read: “Always believe something wonderful is about to happen.”

Inside Tanya had written: “To my love Vin, Something wonderful happens to me every day…Being with you! You are my morning sunshine the moment I wake.

“With all my love, Tanya.”

The couple were together for 27 years and married for 25.