Dan Walker, the star of BBC Breakfast, wished co-star Louise Minchin well as she prepares to travel to Chile for a triathlon.

The 41-year-old TV presenter took to Instagram to say goodbye to Louise, 50, and said he hopes she has a safe return.

“Time to say goodbye, Louise is off for a bit to tackle an ultra-triathlon in Chile,” he began the touching message.

“She is a beast/inspiration. Come back safely Louise.”

His post was quickly inundated with comments from fans of the morning programme wishing Louise the best of luck in Chile.

One person wrote: “Good luck Louise. I expect at least a bronze! No pressure,” while another said: “Best of luck Louise.”

A third penned: “Good luck Louise. It’s an awesome thing to do. I will miss the banter between you and Dan on BBC Breakfast. Stay safe.”

“I’ll miss you Louise. Hurry back, you and Dan are brilliant together. Good luck, rather you than me,” a fourth commentator shared.

Someone else gushed: “Good luck Louise! What an amazing role model you are. I love watching you guys in the morning.”

It comes after Dan Walker joked with his fellow presenter Sally Nugent yesterday after he felt she made some assumptions about ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.

Reporter Sally spoke about English football manager Harry Redknapp joining the ITV series during her sports segment.

Discussing the 71-year-old’s decision to appear on the show, she said: “I don’t know whether it’s brave or ill-informed.”

Then, a VT of Jamie Redknapp’s father talking about who would be washing his underwear while he was in camp was shown.

After Dan remarked: “A very good question, Harry,” before Sally replied: “Yeah, not Sandra [his wife] while he’s in the jungle.”

Continuing, a curious Dan asked: “Don’t you have to do it in that water feature?”

“No!” Sally exclaimed. “You hand it to laundry at the five star hotel, surely?

“Do you think?” Louise questioned.

Dan then laughed: “How dare you. Are you saying TV is a charade?”, to which Sally chuckled: “I think sometimes it might be.”

Harry was officially confirmed to be part of this year’s line-up on Monday night, he joins the likes of John Barrowman, Rita Simmons and Sair Khan.

BBC Breakfast airs weekdays on BBC One at 6am.