Pop star opens up about estranged relationship with father he never met

EntertainmentLifestyle
4 Feb 2026 • 6:43 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • Duncan James, from the boyband Blue, has opened up about his estranged relationship with his late father, whom he never met.
  • His father left his mother before James was born, and he was raised by a single parent.
  • James spoke to his father for the first and only time at age 25, but shortly after, his father sold a story about their conversation to a tabloid.
  • This act of betrayal led James to decide against meeting his father, who was later found dead in his home in Portugal.
  • James expressed feelings of guilt over his father's death and acknowledged that the experience contributed to his ongoing “daddy issues”.

IN FULL