James Whale dead aged 74: Broadcaster passes away following kidney, spine and brain cancer battle

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

James Whale has passed away at the age of 74 following a battle with kidney cancer.
His wife Nadine confirmed the news on Monday, telling the Express: 'James slipped away very gently this morning. It was a beautiful passing and he left with a smile on his face.'
Just hours before his death was announced, the broadcaster's final column was published, in which he revealed he's 'happy to go now and feels at peace' after moving into a hospice.
The beloved radio presenter was first diagnosed in 2000, and doctors predicted he had three months to live before he underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys.
The operation proved to be successful, and six years later he launched the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer, to fund research and raise awareness of the disease.
Tragically, his cancer returned in 2020 and it was revealed it had also spread to his spine, brain and lungs.
He is survived by wife Nadine and his two sons James and Peter.
In May, James revealed he was no longer receiving treatment.
Speaking on his Talk TV show with Ash Gould, he said: 'I'm at the end of my cancer journey. There is no treatment I can have anymore.
'I can't tell you how grateful I am to Talk to actually let me on the air and sit next to Ash, which is a real pain in the butt, but I've been doing it for 25 years!'
The beloved radio presenter was first diagnosed in 2000, and doctors predicted he had three months to live before he underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys (pictured 2023)
James said his recent ill health had taken its toll on him due to a severe bout of flu which led to an intensive care stay over Christmas.
Despite his health, James managed to joke: 'It might actually be helping me, you never know, so I don't let that cloud my judgment – but on the medication I am on, I'm all over the place.
'I'm hoping to go on for another few weeks, few months but as soon as I can't do the show anymore, I won't.'
On June 7, he told TalkTV viewers that things were getting 'very very difficult' and he had resorted to wearing make-up on the air to appear healthy.
During a conversation with a guest who'd lost her husband to the disease James said: 'Until very recently, everything was quite normal for me, everything was fine, and then you do get to a stage like I am now, with things get to be very very difficult'.
'To anybody else who is in the final stages of cancer, you have my sympathy. I know exactly what you're going through, I do know, I look basically okay, I get told you look alright and I look okay, it's all make-up'.
He had previously claimed that he would be 'lucky to make it to Christmas'.
James' cancer returned just two years after losing his first wife Melinda to lung cancer.
While he vowed to fight the disease, he admitted he had contemplated euthanasia after learning of his diagnosis while still in mourning.
Announcing the news, he confessed: 'I came home, had a little think about things. I decided I'm just booking myself a trip to Dignitas. You might as well just go and get it over with.
'I'd looked into it quite some time ago because Melinda died two years ago and it's been something in the back of my mind.'
He continued: 'This little b*****d has spread. It's in my remaining kidney. I've got a couple of small lesions in my lungs. I've got it in my spine. I've got it in my brain.'
In 2021, James remarried - tying the knot with tax advisor Nadine Lamont Brown in a romantic ceremony at Tenterden Town Hall in Kent.
He later credited his new wife with giving him the strength to continue fighting cancer.
Speaking in a joint interview with Nadine, he shared: 'The reason I wanted to go to Dignitas was because I was thinking of others, not me.
'I'm not scared of dying. I want to be buried in the churchyard at the top of the hill. It's a great view.'
But James revealed he was 'glad' he didn't make the decision to go because it has given him 'two great years' with his wife Nadine.
Elsewhere in the interview, James heartbreakingly spoke about the struggles of his terminal cancer, admitting he doesn't want to 'go on forever' feeling as unwell as he did.
The TV personality also reflected on his relationship with Nadine, saying he told her they should 'cool off' their romance when he was first diagnosed with cancer when they first started dating.
He said: 'It was so unfair on her, so I said, "I think we should cool it and not see each other', and she replied, "Oh that's nice, so if I'd just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, you wouldn't come and see me any more", so we carried on.'
Celebrity Big Brother star James spent Christmas in intensive care after being rushed to hospital amid his terminal cancer battle.
He was hospitalised with the flu and was later discharged from the ICU to recover at home.
His relieved wife, Nadine told fans at the time: 'After a worrying week I am happy to report that @THEJamesWhale is out of ICU and back at home, having batted off the Grim Reaper yet again.
'This time he tried with a bout of Influenza A, but without success. Our hero is home for NYE.'
James received an MBE for services to broadcasting and charity back in April 2024.
The broadcaster began his career with Metro Radio in 1974 where he pioneered the late-night radio phone-in.
He rose to fame in the Eighties with his frank style, dry wit and no-nonsense approach on late-night programme The James Whale Radio Show, gaining a legion of loyal listeners.
The host then spent 13 years at TalkSport before he was sacked following complaints about him urging his listeners to vote for Boris Johnson in London's mayoral elections
He went on to host the drivetime show on LBC and the breakfast show on BBC Essex.
During his career he also hosted Whale On, Dial Midnight and Central Weekend Live for ITV, and Talk About for BBC One.
James' autobiography Almost A Celebrity: A Lifetime Of Night-Time was published in 2008 and he later launched a new version of The James Whale Radio Show.
In 2016, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother where he famously clashed with Saira Khan.
During a tense clash, Loose Women panellist Saira revealed she had researched James before entering the house and asked: 'Why have you got a tag that you could come across as being a "racist" person?'
But the broadcaster and talk show host quickly fired back: 'I've never heard so much rubbish in my entire life.
He added: 'I don't think I am known for that. Am I known for that? I don't know. I really don't know. I've been one of the judges of the British Curry Awards for 10 years.'
A representative for James later told MailOnline: 'She tried to make something out of a non fact. There isn't a racist bone in James' body.'
James was born in Ewell, Surrey and was a keen sportsman in his youth, earning the title of Surrey junior champion in archery.
It was during one of his first jobs as a trainee buyer for Harrods where he met a DJ, who inspired him to pursue a career in broadcasting.
He married wife Melinda in 1970 and they went on to welcome sons James and Peter. The couple also have two teenage grandchildren, Oscar and Ella.
In February 2018, James revealed Melinda had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, which came as a complete shock to the couple.
He shared: 'Melinda has stage four lung cancer, it is terminal. She is not expected to live very long, it may be weeks or months. She is having treatment, and I cannot give up that last glimmer of hope.
'But the doctors say I have to face facts. She is dying. The thought of losing her is so painful, it is difficult to even contemplate.'
Non-smoking, vegetarian Melinda had been working hard as a businesswoman and as James's social media advisor and PA before the news.
In 2023, James was asked how he would like to be remembered after five decades in the entertainment industry.
'Just being remembered is good enough,' he mused. 'You asked me, what did I want to achieve?
'I do remember actually thinking at the time, it was the 60s, everybody wanted to be in a band, and everybody was rushing from one place to another.
'I thought, I don't know why I thought this, but I thought to myself, I'd really like for people to have known that I was here.
'I don't know why, but that I thought, when I die, I'd like people to say, "oh, I remember him. What was his name?" Something like that. I am the first person to get night time TV and radio going, whatever anybody else tells you.'
In 2015, the James Whale MBE Fund for Kidney Cancer merged with Kidney Cancer UK.
If you are the patient or loved one of someone who has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, you can contact Kidney Cancer UK's free helpline on 08000029002
What is kidney cancer?
Each year around 12,600 people in the UK are diagnosed with kidney cancer and around 63,000 in the US, according to figures.
It is one of the fastest growing cancers in terms of incidence, with rates increasing by 50 per cent in the past decade.
Risk factors for kidney cancer include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and a family history of the disease. Tell-tale symptoms include blood in the urine.
Most cases of kidney cancer don't cause any symptoms in the early stages, according to the NHS. The most common symptoms of mid- to advanced-stage kidney cancer are:
Blood in the urine: The amount of blood is usually high enough to change the colour of your urine to a reddish or dark brown colour
A persistent pain in your side, just below the ribs
A lump or swelling in the area of your kidneys (on either side of the body)
However, in around half of all cases the cancer causes no symptoms and is only detected during a routine ultrasound scan.
Renal cell carcinoma makes up around 50 per cent of all kidney cancer cases, charities say.