Alagiah steps back as newsreader after cancer spreads again
GEORGE ALAGIAH, the BBC newsreader, is to take a break from broadcasting to deal with “a further spread of cancer”, his agent has announced.
Following successful treatment for bowel cancer first diagnosed in 2014, the presenter returned to work on BBC New at Six, but his illness returned and by last year cancer had spread to his lungs, lymph nodes, and liver.
His agent said in a statement released yesterday that Alagiah has now suffered a “further spread” and would be taking “a break from studio duties” while undergoing additional treatment.
The statement added: “In a letter to colleagues in the newsroom, Mr Alagiah said his medical team had decided to hit the new tumour ‘hard and fast’.
“He is due to undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy over the next few months.”
According to his agent, Alagiah said that despite the spread he was “determined to come back” to work on the programme that has “kept me sane over the last few years”.
Following the latest announcement, a BBC spokesman said: “We are all wishing George well and look forward to seeing him back in the newsroom.”
Broadcasting colleagues also shared their best wishes with the 65-year-old presenter, who has fronted the BBC News at Six since 2007.
Alastair Stewart, the former ITV newsreader, said Alagiah was “one of the finest newscasters in the business, and a lovely guy”, adding: “I wish him well as he strives for a full recovery.” Kasia Madera, the BBC news presenter, described her colleague as “the nicest person in broadcasting”, and David Shukman, the corporation’s science editor, sent “every good wish for the coming weeks”.
The news comes after a lengthy struggle with cancer that first began in 2014.
The newsreader and author underwent 17 rounds of chemotherapy to treat advanced bowel cancer between 2014 and 2015, and returned to work in November 2015 after being given the all-clear.
But in 2017 he was told that his cancer had returned, and was again forced to take a break from his role with the BBC, returning in 2019 following another round of treatment.
His stage four progression meant he was given only a 10 per cent chance of surviving the next five years, and warned that had he been screened earlier, his cancer could have been detected and dealt with.
Last year Alagiah overcame coronavirus and once again returned to work after battling illness, but received news that his cancer had spread to his lungs, liver, and lymph nodes.
The presenter, who first joined the BBC in 1989, said that his experience in dealing with cancer had helped him face his battle with Covid-19.
Alagiah has previously said that he and his doctors refuse to speak of his illness as “chronic” or “terminal”, but revealed that he had told medical staff to warn him when it was time to “sort my affairs out”.
‘Alagiah said his medical team had decided to hit the new tumour “hard and fast” ’