Alesha Dixon's father Melvin has detailed his heartache over his eight-year rift with the Britain's Got Talent judge as he pleads for reconciliation.
In a new interview, the retired service engineer, 66, admitted he's endured sleepless nights over their estranged relationship and hopes the pair can mend their broken ties as she prepares to welcome her second child with husband Azuka Ononye later this year.
On watching his famous daughter, 40, on TV, Melvin said: 'It has been awful. It is torture seeing her on TV knowing she’s not part of my life any more.'
Estranged: Alesha Dixon's father Melvin has detailed his heartache over his eight-year rift with the Britain's Got Talent judge as he pleads for reconciliation
'I went to a friend’s house and Britain’s Got Talent came on the TV — I had to leave the room. I was too upset and, if I think about her before I go to bed, I cannot sleep', he told The Sun On Sunday.
The father-of-nine, who claimed he's never met Alesha's five-year-old daughter Azura, went on to reveal he had a 'huge lump' in this throat when he recently discovered the TV star is pregnant.
He said: 'She didn’t even call me... I very much doubt I will see her new baby and I have never met my other granddaughter.'
Following his split from Alesha's mother Beverly Harris when the songstress was four, Melvin enjoyed a new life with his partner Catherine and their three children Leyanne, 31, Jeroam, 27 and Callum, 22.
'It's torture seeing her on TV': The retired service engineer, 66, hopes the pair can mend their broken ties as she prepares to welcome her second child later this year
Rift in family: Father-of-nine Melvin claimed he's never met Alesha's five-year-old daughter Azura
During a candid interview on Piers Morgan's Life Stories back in 2014, the former Mis-Teeq member revealed she was not in contact with her father.
The musician explained: 'I don’t speak to my dad at the moment, no. I think it’s very difficult when you don’t have a dad that lives at home with you and they have a new family.
'It takes time to get that to work. Unfortunately for my dad and I, it didn’t really work, so there were times he would be in my life and things would be brilliant and then for some reason, I’m not even sure myself why, the
