Rob Rinder broke down while hosting Good Morning Britain as he helped launch the show’s annual campaign to combat loneliness at Christmas.

The One Million Minutes campaign kicked off with a new video entitled Bob’s Back, directed by James Bond star Colin Salmon.

Introducing the campaign, co-host Susanna Reid, 50, explained: “Every December here on the programme we run a very special campaign.

“We don’t ask you to donate money, we ask you to pledge a little bit of your time to charities fighting to end loneliness.”

Rob, 43, added: “I really love this, it’s called One Million Minutes and last year, you gave an unbelievable 87 million minutes if your volunteering time changing the lives of lonely people around the country.”

Susanna continued: “Every single minute makes a difference, and we are officially turning the pledge button on this morning as we launch this year’s campaign.

“Now we have a very special film for you, it’s called Bob’s Back and is directed by a Bond star. Let’s have a look.”

When the cameras returned to the studio, it was clear that the tear-jerking clip had been too much for Rob, who was visibly crying.

“You’re broken!” Susanna told him.

“Second time watching, just so you know,” he replied.

“Just watching that and how much it has affected me, and I’m sure every viewer, a quarter of a million minutes have been pledged here.”

The film told the story of Bob who was hiding in an allotment shed and was clearly very lonely.

While he was inside, a group of people came together with the aim of cheering him up.

Adding fairy lights to a nearby tree, they all gathered to greet him as he came out of the shed with a huge smile on his face as a little girl hugged him.

“Allotments are really important to people,” Susanna reflected.

Agreeing, Rob said: “They really are, just being alongside one another, now more than ever. Also, how important being alongside each other at Christmas as well.