A Texas news anchor broke down in tears on the air Thursday as she informed her station’s viewers that her longtime colleague at the desk had died a day earlier.

Veteran KCEN-TV anchor Kris Radcliffe of Temple died on Wednesday at the age of 51, his co-anchor Lindsay Liepman announced on Thursday during an emotional broadcast.

“This is an incredibly sad day for our KCEN family,” Liepman said to open Thursday’s newscast. “My co-anchor, Kris Radcliffe, died unexpectedly and we received the news today.”

Liepman noted her late colleague anchored at the Texas station for two decades and fondly remembered working alongside him,

“Kris sat in the chair right beside me, and he was the best,” she said. “He was simply the best. Funny, genuine, and smart. I looked forward to working with Kris every single night. And I think you could tell at home we had fun here.”

Overcome by emotion, she continued:

Kris loved this community and never took his role for granted. If I had known yesterday was going to be our last newscast together, I would have ignored the cues to rap from our producers and just laughed a little longer at all of his jokes. He always has lots of jokes. I would have thanked him for all that he’s taught me and given to all of you, the viewers. But that is not how life works out.

What you don’t get to see on air is the time spent talking about our families. And our group chats. He loved talking about sports and politics. It was important for me to share what he meant to us here at KCEN right now, because I know he would have done the same for me. My thoughts and sincere prayers are with Kris’s wife, daughters, and especially his grandchildren who idolized their papa

Liepman offered condolences to the Radcliffe family and announced she would be leaving early and handing off the evening’s anchor duties to a colleague.

“I simply can’t get through the newscast tonight, and I hope you understand,” she said.

KCEN honored Radcliffe in the following statement:

For over two decades at KCEN, Kris shared the most important headlines across Central Texas and gave a voice to its community members. Kris began his journey in Central Texas as a sports anchor before he became a morning anchor for Texas Today for nine years. Kris later joined the evening team as co-anchor for 6 News at 5, 6 and 10.

Watch above via KCEN.

The post News Anchor Breaks Down After Announcing Colleague’s Passing, Immediately Leaves Broadcast in Heartwrenching Moment first appeared on Mediaite.

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