Former BBC Breakfast host Bill Turnbull has revealed he has prostate cancer – and feels ‘stupid’ for not seeing a GP for four years
Former BBC Breakfast host Bill Turnbull has revealed he has prostate cancer – and feels ‘stupid’ for not seeing a GP for four years.
The 62-year-old was diagnosed months ago after aches and pains that he put down to ‘old age’ were no longer being alleviated with pills.
Specialists have since found the cancer has spread to the bone, although he has been given between ten and 18 years to live. The father of three, now a Classic FM presenter, spoke out to encourage others to get tested for prostate cancer, saying that if he’d sought help earlier ‘I’d be in a much better state’.
He said: ‘The worst thing is, you carry it through the day and then you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning and it comes to you again. I have got cancer. I’ve still got cancer. It wasn’t a bad dream. And that takes a lot of dealing with.’
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end needless prostate deaths through earlier diagnosis and better treatments.
Turnbull has had kidney surgery, hormone injections and ‘knackering’ chemotherapy over the last few months and said the days after his diagnosis were ‘a dark chasm’.
Nevertheless, he is determined to stay upbeat, telling Radio Times: ‘You have to be positive, don’t you?
‘I know I’m not going to get cured and I’m realistic about the long-term prospects, but they’re not bad.
The 62-year-old was diagnosed months ago after aches and pains that he put down to ‘old age’ were no longer being alleviated with pills
‘Most importantly, I really do think I’ve had a wonderful life, with amazing experiences as a reporter and a presenter.
‘And if it was all to end tomorrow, I couldn’t have any complaints. I’ve had a really marvellous time. You have BC, Before Cancer, when you had a normal life, and then there’s After Cancer, when things are very different.’ The presenter is also determined to continue working and said he will not draw up a bucket list, insisting his ‘life is very liveable’.
Asked how the illness has changed him, he said he is a ‘bit shorter of temper, where you can feel your inner Hulk bursting to get out’, and the hormones can make him ‘more fragile and emotional’.Turnbull had been for prostate tests when he reached 40 and 50. But there was no cancer in his family, and he put his aches and pains and changes to his ‘pee pattern’ down to old age.
However, when he eventually took himself to the doctor for a blood test, he was called back the next day. Recalling the appointment – which he attended alone as neither he nor his wife Sarah had ‘twigged how important that day was’ – he said: ‘The GP said, “It’s clear you have prostate cancer and that it’s spread to the bone”.
‘And all of a sudden you’re in this dark chasm.’ Before his diagnosis, Turnbull recorded The Great Celebrity Bake Off for the Stand Up To Cancer charity, which begins tonight on Channel 4 at 8pm. Highlighting the irony of the timing, he said: ‘When I was making my cupcakes, I had the disease and didn’t know it.’
Turnbull, pictured with his wife Sarah, began his broadcasting career in 1978 and is best-known for his 15-year stint on BBC Breakfast
Figures released last month reveal that prostate cancer claims 11,800 lives a year, making it a bigger killer than breast cancer. However, there is now a new strategy to revolutionise treatment, where patients have all their tests in one day.
Those with bone cancer have an average life expectancy of about a decade, although chemotherapy can increase this by a few more years. Turnbull says his consultant aims to get him to 18 years. ‘I wouldn’t have any complaints,’ said the broadcaster.
‘The only thing is, I don’t want the rest of my life to be defined by the illness.’ The star was interviewed for the magazine article by Channel 5 News anchor Sian Williams – his friend and former BBC Breakfast colleague who has also battled cancer. He told her how he once received an advert for a wine that will mature in 2030, adding: ‘I thought, “Oh. Not much point me buying that one then.”
Turnbull (with Louise Minchin in 2014) has had kidney surgery, hormone injections and chemotherapy over the last few months and said the days after his diagnosis were ‘a dark chasm’
Bill Turnbull said farewell to BBC Breakfast in 2016 after 15 years as a presenter on the morning show, pictured here with Louise Minchin
Turnbull also hosted the programme Think Tank, a quiz show which aired on BBC One in 2016
‘And I realised if things progress as they do on average, I can’t plan beyond 12 years. But gosh, I would like to see at least one grandchild and there’s still lots of time for that to happen. It’s not like I’m going to pop my clogs in two years’ time.’
Surrey-born Turnbull, who began his broadcasting career in 1978, is best-known for his 15-year stint on BBC Breakfast alongside Louise Minchin until 2016. He appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, finishing sixth.
He and his wife Sarah live in Suffolk, and have three children, Henry, 29, Will, 28 and 26-year-old Flora. The news of his diagnosis comes weeks after Stephen Fry, 60, revealed he is battling prostate cancer and has undergone surgery.
Bill Turnbull stepped down from BBC Breakfast after 15 years to spend more time with his bees
Bill Turnbull bid farewell to BBC Breakfast in 2016 after fronting the morning programme for 15 years.
He joined the BBC One show in 2001 and moved to Greater Manchester when the programme relocated to Salford Quays in 2012.
A keen beekeeper, he said he was ready to swap his 3am starts to spend more time with his family and look after his bee colony.
Saying goodbye: Bill Turnbull in the BBC Breakfast studio with several female co-hosts including (from left) Sally Nugent, Stephanie McGovern and Louise Minchin
He said at the time: ‘I’ve been neglecting my bees for far too long – they’re on a farm. They were going to come up here to the Lakes but it was too windy.
‘I came north for two years, and it went well so I agreed to another two – that’s coming to an end.
‘I’ll have been doing the show for nearly 15 years. That’s more than enough for me and the audience.’
He spoke of his plans to lead a rural lifestyle in Suffolk with his wife Sarah and keep chickens with.
A keen beekeeper, he said he was ready to swap his 3am starts to spend more time with his family and look after his bee colony
He joined BBC Breakfast in 2001 after working on Radio 4’s Today programme and also working as the broadcaster’s Washington correspondent.
The presenter worked with several female co-hosts including Sian Williams, Susanna Reid and his last on-screen partners Naga Munchetty and Louise Minchin.
Last year he was reunited with Susanna Reid when he appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain alongside Piers Morgan.
He also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 and will appear in a special Stand Up To Cancer edition of The Great British Bake Off.