BBC Radio Essex presenter Dave Monk has been diagnosed with terminal cancer (Image: BBC)

BBC presenter Dave Monk has spoken out for the first time since he received his terminal cancer diagnosis. The broadcaster, who presented on the BBC Essex radio station for 37 years, was told by doctors that he had pancreatic cancer just a few months after taking his retirement in 2023.

Despite battling the d3adly disease through several operations and treatment plans, the cancer has returned and spread throughout his body. He told the BBC in an emotional interview: “I’m not scared of d3ath, but I’d rather it not have come quite yet.” Dave was one of the first voices to take to the airwaves when BBC Essex first launched from Chelmsford in 1986

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He went on to interview several household names throughout his career, including former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, Sir Paul McCartney, and Dame Vera Lynn. He was also the first designated local voice to return to the airwaves following the d3ath of Elizabeth II.

The presenter even learned live on air who his grandfather was – a Canadian pilot killed during World War One. Shortly after learning about his heritage, he travelled to the snow-capped country to meet his extended family.

But his story didn’t end there; he also flew to France, where he met President Macron, who had heard about his story. Unfortunately, Dave was informed he had pancreatic cancer the day before his birthday. Recalling the chilling moment, he said at the time: “We thought it was just gallbladder problems, so it was completely out of the blue.”

Following the life-changing diagnosis, Dave underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy. He also endured a pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as the Whipple’s procedure, where part of the pancreas and bile duct, stomach, gallbladder, and duodenum are removed.

He admitted: “That worked for about four months” before he moved on to stereotactic radiotherapy, followed by a targeted high-dose form of radiation treatment in a final effort to get rid of the cancer.

He received the devastating diagnosis the day before his birthday (Image: Instagram)

Struggling to hold back tears, Dave went on: “Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, we got the news that [the radiotherapy] hadn’t worked either. The cancer has now grown on the pancreas, and it’s spread to the lungs, liver, and various other bits of the body.

“They’ve decided there’s nothing more they can do, so I’m under the wonderful care of Farleigh Hospice and [I’m] going through the last stages.” Despite the devastating diagnosis, Dave said he coped with the initial diagnosis “pretty well”, and that, having reached his 70s, “that’s alright”. He added: “I’ve had a great life, I’ve met some wonderful people, I’ve done some fantastic things.”

However, the news about the treatment failure “came really hard” to him and his wife, Caroline. He admitted: “I don’t want to d!e – my God, I don’t want to d!e – because both of us had started making plans again, and that was the problem.

“We were lulled into a false sense of security that we could make plans again, and now we can’t. But then you’ve just got to come to terms with the fact that we are all going to d!e, and mine is going pretty fast now.”