Man who moved the nation
Steve Hewlett, Radio 4 host who chronicled battle with cancer on air, dies at 58 – a month after getting married
HE fought a very public battle with cancer, moving the country on air with his wit and bravery. BBC Radio 4 host Steve Hewlett helped shine a light on what it’s like to live with the disease. And yesterday listeners were devastated to learn he had died, surrounded by family as Bob Dylan played in the background.
Mr Hewlett, 58, shared his frustrations and fears with millions in a series of frank and raw interviews. The presenter, who was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus last March, married the ‘love of his life’ Rachel Crellin less than a month ago, after being told he had only weeks to live.
He had hosted Radio 4’s The Media Show for nearly a decade, but he found a wider audience with his discussions about cancer with PM presenter Eddie Mair. The interviews examined issues such as drug trials and his reaction to treatment.
Yesterday, cancer charities praised the journalist for his bravery in sharing his story.
John Newlands, senior cancer nurse at Macmillan Cancer Support said: ‘We hope that by shining a light on what it’s like to live with cancer, Steve has encouraged more people – and particularly men – to see a doctor early if they have worrying symptoms and to feel more confident when telling family and friends that they have cancer.’
Nick Robinson, the Today presenter – who has himself had lung cancer – shared a poem he wrote after visiting Mr Hewlett a ‘few days ago’, realising that he would ‘almost certainly never see him again’. It began with the lines: ‘You chose to confront your sickness, your pain, your fear in public / Your decision made thousands realise they were not alone.’ Cancer of the oesophagus is the eighth most common cancer, and one of the most aggressive. Fewer than 15 per cent of people who are diagnosed with the disease survive after five years.
Mr Hewlett had three grown-up sons with his former partner Karole Lange. It was she who suggested he marry Miss Crellin, an executive at a TV production company. Their wedding took place on his ward at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
The presenter – who was adopted as a baby – has said previously that telling his sons he was suffering from cancer was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life.
But despite the emotional ordeal of the disease, Mr Hewlett was working until the end. He was still hosting the Media Show last month.
Mr Hewlett knew the media trade inside and out. Having begun as a researcher for BBC’s Nationwide, he scaled the ranks to become editor of Panorama. In 1995 he oversaw its explosive interview with Princes Diana. He went on to become director of programmes at Carlton TV before later returning to journalism.