Dermot Murnaghan reveals why he told the world he had stage four prostate cancer - as he plots charity bike ride with Sir Chris Hoy
Newsreader Dermot Murnaghan has today revealed why he shared his stage four prostate cancer diagnosis with the world - as he said he plans to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.
The former BBC and Sky News anchor, 67, told Times Radio on Saturday that the response from the public 'surpassed anything I'd imagined' as he encouraged other men to get tested.
Describing why he decided to announce his private health battle, Mr Murnaghan said: 'A few people were asking, there were a few whispers out there, so in journalistic parlance you take control of the narrative don't you, so I put a little message out there and got a massive response.
'And I'm glad, not in terms of the feedback to me and the support which has been amazing but in terms if one man, one, goes and gets tested and finds he's got what I've got or it's developing and they get treated earlier, I've done something.
'Somebody somewhere has benefitted from my problems.'
He added: 'Whatever modicum of glimmering recognition I have I just hope to use it to help people.'
Stage four is the most advanced stage of cancer, meaning cancerous cells have spread beyond the prostate and into other areas of the body. In these cases it is generally not curable, but it can be treated.
The journalist, who has been married to his wife Maria for almost 36 years and has four children, revealed his diagnosis on Twitter on Monday.
He said: 'I've been diagnosed with stage four advanced prostate cancer I'm fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team looking after me, who I can't thank enough - they are administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity', he wrote.
'I'm responding positively to their excellent treatment, and feeling well'.
Speaking to Times Radio today, the newsreader revealed he was diagnosed 'a while ago' and is currently undergoing chemo therapy, which he quipped he 'wouldn't recommend'.
He added that he didn't think he had any symptoms of prostate cancer, but was encouraged by Sir Chris Hoy's announcement he had uncurable cancer in late 2024 to get tested.
Mr Murnaghan said: 'You might not have symptoms. The symptoms are up there, they're on the cancer websites, on the NHS, you might not have them - I didn't.
'You get a bit older and you have a few beers and you get up at night and have a wee. And you think well that's not it. That's one of the big signs of course, is urinating a lot more at night.'
Mr Murnaghan told the station he is taking part in a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer alongside Sir Chris Hoy, who also has stage four prostate cancer.
The 'Tour de 4' event, organised by Sir Chris, is available for anyone to attend, particularly those who have had stage 4 cancer and their friends and family.
The event, which will take place on September 7, features four different rides form a challenging 56 mile road race to a 1km family ride around the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow, and stationary bikes for anyone to unwell to ride standard bikes.
Asked how he is fairing overall, he said: 'I'm feeling alright, I'm having chemo at the moment, I wouldn't recommend it. But I get up in the morning, I take everything they give me, I eat well and... I'm out for a shortish bike ride.'
He said he exercises every day in a bid to keep as healthy as possible despite his cancer diagnosis.
NHS guidance says men over the age of 50 are at highest risk of developing prostate cancer, but the journalist has joined Sir Chris in wanting to help men get screened earlier.
About one in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the charity Prostate Cancer UK, and the disease often has no symptoms in its earlier stages.
Dermot left Sky and TV broadcasting after more than 15 years in 2023.
Before joining Sky News, Murnaghan presented ITV's News At Ten and the BBC Ten O'Clock News - now known as BBC News At Ten - as well as Channel 4 News.
Murnaghan has also hosted the BBC's quiz programme Eggheads.
Dermot started out in local newspapers and became one of the biggest names in TV
While at Sky News he was the journalist who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace as well as numerous elections in the UK.
He began his career as a trainee reporter at local newspapers before joining Channel 4 as a researcher. He later became a reporter for the broadcaster's The Business Programme.
After a brief stint in Switzerland to present the European Business Channel, Mr Murnaghan returned to Britain to host the business segments on The Channel 4 Daily, a new breakfast show by Channel 4.
He then made the move to ITV in the early 1990s, where in 1997 he broke the news of the death of Princess Diana.
The veteran journalist switched broadcasters again in the early 2000s, joining BBC Breakfast as one of the lead presenters from 2002 to 2007.
Dermot formed a very popular partnership with Natasha Kaplinsky.
He was also a regular fixture on the six o'clock and ten o'clock news.
He moved to Sky News in October 2007, where he has remained until his final show almost 16 years later.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
This 10-year plan may be the last chance to save the NHS
The 10-year plan for the National Health Service that Sir Keir Starmer is expected to publish in the next few days is likely to be a somewhat incoherent document. From the advance publicity, it would seem to have a lot of disconnected ideas in it, some good, some not so good and some irrelevant. The government hopes that weight-loss drugs will offer the hope of a big advance against obesity-related illnesses – but this comes after new figures raised concerns about their safety. If large language models can speed up the development of new pharmaceuticals, so much the better. But we remain sceptical about whether supermarkets ought to be recruited into policing their customers' calorie intakes. What will decide the success or failure of the NHS over the next decade, however, will be the design of the structural reforms to the service. Wes Streeting, the health and social care secretary, has made a good start in two respects. He has welcomed private-sector providers to help deliver NHS services free at the point of need, and he has taken an axe to the central bureaucracy of NHS England. The test for the 10-year plan will be the extent to which it brings in further changes to incentives throughout the NHS so that it becomes responsive to patients. Sir Jim Mackey, the new chief executive of the NHS, says many of the right things. 'It feels like we've built mechanisms to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience,' he says in his first interview since taking up the post three months ago. He says of the current NHS: 'It takes forever. It costs a fortune. We need to 'de-layer it' because it's expensive, it slows decision-making down, it de-powers people who need to make decisions.' The sentiment is right, but again, some of his ideas seem better than others. We are not convinced that using patient satisfaction surveys to decide how much money NHS trusts receive is going to work. The evidence of reform under the last Labour government was that the mere existence of competition from private-sector providers had a dramatic effect on the performance of NHS units. Already, there are the very early signs that the extra resources put into the NHS are bearing fruit, less than 12 months after the change of government. Luke Tryl, the opinion pollster for More in Common, reported on BBC's Newsnight on Friday that people in focus groups are starting to report positive experiences of the NHS for the first time since the pandemic. 'If there is a bright spot for the government, it's the NHS,' he said. One of the biggest challenges for Sir Jim and Mr Streeting, however, is more political than structural. They have to send the starkest message to doctors: please do not go on strike; take responsibility; show leadership; it is up to you to make the NHS work, because if it cannot be turned round this time, then it probably is the end of this model of healthcare. Sir Jim appears to understand this. He says that his 'big worry' is that if the NHS cannot deliver a service that is better at listening to patients – the particular example he gave was maternity care – 'we'll lose the population; if we lose the population, we've lost the NHS; for me, it's straightforward: the two things are completely dependent on each other.' He is absolutely right. Universal healthcare free at the point of need is a noble idea, but it desperately needs Labour's reforms to work if it is to survive.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
From mushrooms to guarana – three products to help you prevent dehydration
AS I've signed up to this summer's Manchester Half marathon I'm going to be doing some (sweaty) training, so prioritising hydration is crucial. When we sweat we don't just lose water but vital minerals such as sodium, potassium and calcium too. Maintaining their balance is vital to prevent dehydration and electrolytes are key. I've put three – which also have added extras – to the test. PROTEIN ELLE Macpherson's company WelleCo has released The HydroProtein Elixir. In addition to 15g of pea protein per serving it has electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium) for hydration, and a beauty blend (vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, niacin and biotin) for glowing skin. It's also got vitamin B5 for energy. The blackcurrant and pomegranate flavour had a refreshing sharpness. I love that this is a great mixture of ingredients and just 63 calories per serving. The HydroProtein Elixir, £35, MUSHROOMS FOURFIVE is a new firm founded by professional rugby players George Kruis and Dom Day. Their Hydro Hydration Energy and Focus drink contains five key electrolytes calcium, potassium, chloride, magnesium and sodium as well as lion's mane mushrooms and ginseng which help with energy, focus and mental clarity. This also has eight B vitamins and 76mg of caffeine which is about the same as a cup of instant coffee but also contains an amino acid called L-theanine which stops you feeling jittery after caffeine. The Hydro Energy and Focus powder is Red Berry flavour – which is delightful, not too sharp or sweet – and comes as a single, 7-pack or 30-pack sachets (5.5g) from about £1.10 a sachet. From Holland & Barrett or Nell McAndrew's marathon guide GUARANA MUCH more than just another energy drink, Phizz Daily Energy, features a specialised hydration formula and a high-strength, scientifically formulated B-vitamin complex. B-vitamins are important in helping your body convert food into energy, supporting everything from brain function to helping to reduce tiredness and fatigue. Plus, with a blend of caffeine and guarana extract, it provides 75mg of caffeine per tablet. Guarana berries contain three times more caffeine than coffee but it's released slowly, meaning Phizz Daily Energy provides sustained energy over time. They cost £7.99 for a tube of x 20 tablets. For more information, see
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
I had a stroke two years ago and STILL can't swallow – help!
OUR resident specialist and NHS GP, Dr Zoe Williams, shares her expert advice. Today, Dr Zoe helps a reader who is suffering from total dysphagia and wants to know which treatments are available. 2 Q) FOLLOWING a stroke two years ago at the age of 69, I have total dysphagia and have been peg tube fed since. Everything else is back to normal except the ability to swallow but despite doing all the exercises, given by the Speech and Language Therapy team, nothing has worked. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy is private and expensive. Is there any other treatment available? A) Dysphagia is the inability to swallow, which is why you have been fed via a tube into the stomach. I'm sorry to hear that you haven't seen improvement despite support from SALT. NMES aims to retrain the nerves and muscles, and SALT exercises increase effectiveness. But it lacks sufficient robust evidence at the moment to be rolled out. However, it can be used as part of clinical trials or audits. A newer NHS-supported treatment, pharyngeal electrical stimulation, targets the throat's pharynx region. It aims to 'rewire' nerve pathways. Clinical trials (eg, the PHADER study) show it improves swallowing safety and reduces aspiration risk in stroke patients. The NHS is also currently investigating transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) aimed to reactivate swallowing centres in the brain. Other therapies include Botox if muscle stiffness is an issue and surgery to dilate the oesophagus. Do request a multidisciplinary reassessment (neurologist and SALT) to explore your options. And do ask about NHS trials.
