“Jeopardy!” champion Mattea Roach is opening up about the death of her father for the first and last time.
Her father, Philip Henry Roach, was only 57 when he passed away from a brain aneurysm at his home in Halifax on May 2, 2023.
On Tuesday, May 23, Mattea took to Twitter to make a public statement about her father’s passing and explain that she was actually on set filming “Jeopardy! Masters” when her father passed away.
Mattea Roach Reveals Her Father Died Of A Brain Aneurysm While She Was Filming ‘Jeopardy! Masters’
🧵(1/8) In one of my contestant anecdotes on tonight’s Jeopardy Masters, I’m talking about my dad. I’ve done this many times on the show before, but this time I’m speaking in past tense bc my dad died at the start of this month pic.twitter.com/JFFCPaJI5e
— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) May 23, 2023
On Tuesday, May 23, Mattea Roach took to Twitter to share a photo of her and her late father. “In one of my contestant anecdotes on tonight’s Jeopardy Masters, I’m talking about my dad,” she explained, referring to the second day of semi-finals in the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament.
“I’ve done this many times on the show before, but this time I’m speaking in past tense bc my dad died at the start of this month,” she continued. “I wanted to acknowledge my dad in the context of tonight’s game firstly bc he was the subject of the first ever contestant anecdote I ever told on Jeopardy. My thought had been that if I only ever got 30 seconds of time to talk on the show, I wanted it to be about him.”
“I also wanted to talk about my dad bc he passed away while Masters was in production. The first seven episodes were taped before he died, the final three were taped after. (He got to see episode four in studio so he knew it was going well-ish for me),” she explained. “I’ll say this on TV tonight but I want to express it again here – I was at the set of Jeopardy when my dad died. Short of being at home with family, I cannot imagine a better place to be when receiving such horrific news.”
Mattea Says Fellow ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ Contestants Were ‘Beyond Supportive’
🧵(5/8) My fellow contestants were beyond supportive in the moment, and so many people on the production side of things moved mountains to make sure I could get home to my family and then come back later in the month to finish out the competition
— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) May 23, 2023
Mattea said that the five other contestants in the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament “were beyond supportive in the moment, and so many people on the production side of things moved mountains to make sure I could get home to my family and then come back later in the month to finish out the competition.”
Mattea went on to address the fact that her father’s death had made headlines prior to her publicly acknowledging his death. “My dad’s death has had some circulation in the news even before me acknowledging it here, and I personally disagree with the premise that it’s newsworthy (he was not a public figure, I am not a big enough name for the death of a family member to warrant public interest),” she wrote.
🧵(8/8) Lastly – this is my dad’s Reach for the Top (quiz bowl for Americans) team photo from 1983. Dad is seated in the flannel shirt. Everything I am doing on TV this week is for him ❤️ pic.twitter.com/S0JlY7HYPr
— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) May 23, 2023
“Outside of this thread and my remarks in tonight’s episode of Masters, I have no further public comment to offer about my dad right now. I would ask that people respect my privacy and my family’s privacy as our grief is still very fresh,” she continued, wrapping up with a photo of her father.
“Lastly – this is my dad’s Reach for the Top (quiz bowl for Americans) team photo from 1983. Dad is seated in the flannel shirt. Everything I am doing on TV this week is for him,” she concluded.
Mattea’s Dad Was ‘The Proudest Dad Around,’ According To His Obituary
According to his obituary, Phillip was remembered for “his warmth and kindness which he displayed in equal measure to those he’d known for decades and those he’d just met.”
“Phil’s four children were the greatest joy of his life,” the tribute read. “And he endeavored to pass all his wisdom and enthusiasm for living down to them, through long lectures about local history, Trivial Pursuit beatdowns, and instruction in music and movies from before their time. His efforts were mostly successful.”
“Phil could be relied upon to boast about all his children equally, regardless of the scale or scope of their accomplishments,” the statement continued. “He was the proudest dad around and made this abundantly clear to anyone who would listen.”
Many fans took to social media to express condolences for her loss and wish her luck in the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament, which is scheduled to wrap up this week.
Earlier in the tournament, Andrew He revealed that producers were equally as accommodating when he and his partner welcomed a child while filming the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament.
