Presenter Jamie Theakston has revealed he has cancer.
The Heart Radio DJ announced the news in a post on Instagram, saying he recently had an operation to remove a lesion from his vocal cords.
He had sought medical attention after concerned fans contacted him to say they’d noticed a change in his voice.
The 53-year-old wrote: “The biopsy has identified this as Stage 1 Laryngeal Cancer.
“So… I have cancer… but cancer doesn’t have me!
“The prognosis is very positive and I’m hoping to be back with you in October.”
He signed off his post: “Be thankful for this day, and when I see you next I’ll have a great story to tell… Jamie x”.
Theakston’s radio co-host Amanda Holden posted a photograph of the pair together on Instagram.
She wrote: “Our wonderful @jamie.theakston has been diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer. His prognosis is very good and he has an incredible team around him.
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“Jamie. We love and miss you and look forward to seeing you very soon. With @sophietheakstonjewellery, your gorgeous boys, Us and the entire nation with you… YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS.”
‘Love you to bits’
Holden gave an update on Theakston’s health on their breakfast show on Monday morning, telling listeners she wanted to bring them “completely up to speed with what’s going on”.
Presenter Jason King, known as JK, and who normally co-hosts with Kelly Brook, is standing in to cover Theakston while he recovers.
She went on to say, “it is not all bad news,” and that Theakston had asked them to “hold the fort” while he was away, and they would “do him proud”.
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Amanda Holden on co-host’s cancer diagnosis
Theakston has been presenting for Heart for 19 years and has been alongside Holden on the breakfast show for five years after Holden replaced Spice Girl Emma Bunton in the summer of 2019.
Bunton was one of the stars who quickly shared her support, writing: “Love you to bits” followed by a heart emoji.
Presenter and author Carol Vorderman also commented on Theakston’s post, saying: “Sending best Jamie. Thank goodness your listeners spotted the change in your voice, all found early and you’ll be back keeping everyone happy very soon.”
Celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver wrote: “Big love brother you got this sending love xxx.”
TV and radio presenter Lisa Snowdon posted: “Sending lots of love Jamie.”
Presenter Kirsty Gallacher wrote: “Oh Jamie sending so much love and speedy recovery.”
While comedian Leigh Francis, best known as his alter ego Keith Lemon, commented: “Sending you magical powers and positivity x.”
Listeners spotted a change
Earlier this month, Theakston revealed fans had noticed a change in his voice.
“Sooo – a few of you listeners have noticed my voice hasn’t sounded right these past few weeks – I’ve got you to thank… got it checked,” he wrote.
“Doctors found a lesion on my vocal chords which I’ve had removed this weekend.
“Thanks for all the kind messages – should be back on my feet soon.”
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Laryngeal cancer affects the larynx or voice box, and is more common in men than women, according to the NHS website. One of the symptoms can be having a hoarse voice for more than three weeks.
Stage 1 means the cancer has been caught early, and has not spread anywhere else in the body.
The NHS says laryngeal cancer can often be cured by radiotherapy or surgery to remove the cancerous cells if it’s diagnosed early enough.
Theakston rose to fame as the presenter of popular Saturday morning children’s TV show Live & Kicking, which he co-hosted alongside Zoe Ball between 1996 and 1999.
He went on to co-host Top Of The Pops and present on Radio 1. He also briefly dabbled in acting, appearing in detective show Marple, sketch show Little Britain and comedy sitcom My Family in the early 2000s.
Theakston married jewellery designer Sophie Siegle in 2007, and the couple have two sons, Sidney, 16, and Kit, 14, together.
Kylie Minogue has announced her biggest tour in more than a decade – as well as a new album.
The pop star’s Tension tour will open in her home country, Australia, before heading to Asia and reaching the UK in May 2025. More countries and dates in Europe and North and South America are set to be announced over the coming weeks.
“I am beyond excited to announce the Tension tour 2025,” Minogue said in a statement sent to Sky News. “I can’t wait to share beautiful and wild moments with fans all over the world, celebrating the Tension era and more!
“It’s been an exhilarating ride so far and now, get ready for your close up because I will be calling Lights, Camera, Action… and there will be a whole lot of Padaming!”
The UK dates include shows in Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham and Birmingham, and two at London’s O2 Arena.
Minogue first teased the news as she announced her new album, Tension II, earlier today – revealing the sequel will be released in October, with the lead single, Lights Camera Action coming on 27 September.
“But wait! There’s more…” she added.
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The tour announcement followed this afternoon. It will be Minogue’s first since her Golden shows in 2018 and 2019 and her biggest since the Aphrodite: Les Folies tour in 2011, which followed the Aphrodite album and hits including All The Lovers and Get Outta My Way.
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Kylie speaks to Sky News on the Brits red carpet
The new album includes the dance hit Edge of Saturday Night with The Blessed Madonna, as well as collaborations with Orville Peck, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo, and Sia.
“The Tension era has been so special to me,” the star said. “I can’t possibly let it be over just yet!”
Minogue, who rose to fame on Australian soap Neighbours in the 1980s before becoming a pop mega star, has had hits throughout the decades ever since – from I Should Be So Lucky, Hand On Your Heart and Better The Devil You Know, to Confide In Me, Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.
Padam Padam, released in 2023, marked another reinvention with a move into electronic dance, and became a viral hit.
Earlier this year, she was named a global icon at the Brit Awards, and won the Grammy for best pop dance recording for the single.
Coronation Street star Geoff Hinsliff has died aged 87, ITV has said.
The actor was best known for playing Don Brennan on the soap from 1987 to 1997. He died last weekend.
Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt in the show, paid tribute to Hinsliff on behalf of Coronation Street and ITV, saying: “Geoff was a lovely, quiet man who will be sadly missed by us all.
“His partnership with Lynne Perrie was something rather special and they gave the viewers huge pleasure for many years.”
Born in Leeds, Hinsliff studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and initially appeared on Coronation Street in 1963 and 1977 as different characters.
He joined the cast as taxi driver Don in 1987.
His 10-year stint on the cobbles saw him commit kidnap and attempted murder after several business deals went wrong before his character died when he crashed his car into a viaduct.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been refused bail a second time as he faces several charges including sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.
US district judge Andrew L Carter said the government had proved “by clear and convincing evidence that there is no condition or set of conditions” that will ensure the safety of the community and that the rapper and music mogul will not tamper with witnesses.
The 54-year-old pleaded not guilty after he was first arrested by officers at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.
He was originally denied bail and told he would be detained after pleading not guilty to three felony counts during an initial court appearance on Tuesday.
Lawyers representing Combs asked a judge on Wednesday to let him await his trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, as opposed to in jail in Brooklyn.
But prosecutors argued against the proposal, saying there was too great a risk that Combs could threaten or harm witnesses.
Combs’s lawyers offered a $50m (£37.8m) bail package in exchange for his release to home detention with GPS monitoring and strict limitations on who could visit him.
Arguing to keep him behind bars, prosecutor Emily Johnson told the judge that Combs had a long history of intimidating both accusers and witnesses to his alleged abuse.
Ms Johnson cited text messages from women who said Combs forced them into “Freak Offs” and then threatened to leak explicit videos of them engaging in sexual acts.
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She also said that Combs’s own defence team was “minimising and horrifically understating” his propensity for violence.
The defence and prosecution were wrangling over the request before the judge passed his ruling.
“I am feeling confident. We’re going to go get Mr Combs out of jail,” Combs’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo said on his way into court on Wednesday, before the judge decided Combs would spend his time before the trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
A legal indictment released after Combs’s arrest detailed allegations dating to 2008, accusing him of abusing, threatening, and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.
He allegedly induced female victims and male sex workers into drug-fuelled sexual performances, dubbed “Freak Offs”, according to the report.
Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop – famous as a producer and manager of the late Notorious BIG, as well as a rapper in his own right for hits including I’ll Be Missing You, Come With Me, and Bad Boy For Life.
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However, in November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit accusing him of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fuelled settings.
The suit was settled in one day, but months later CNN aired hotel security footageshowing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her to the floor.
He apologised after the video aired, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it.”