Jamie Theakston spoke to Davina McCall about his diagnosis(Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Jamie Theakston initially dismissed his symptoms as being merely just a sore throat(PA)
Jamie Theakston has revealed that he spent weeks keeping his cancer diagnosis to himself, choosing not to tell even his wife and teenage sons after doctors confirmed he had stage one laryngeal cancer. The 54-year-old Heart Breakfast presenter — best known for hosting alongside Amanda Holden — shared the emotional story as he reflected on the moment last year when he learned he had cancer of the voice box, a condition that typically shows up as pain while swallowing, persistent sore throats, or a lump in the neck.
Jamie finally returned to Heart Radio in January (Pictured hugging Davina McCall)(PA)
Listeners had previously noticed a change in his voice, prompting him to get checked, and Jamie later thanked them for pushing him to seek medical advice. But despite that early warning, he made the difficult decision not to share the news right away — even with his wife, Sophie Siegle. Instead, he held onto the information during a family holiday to Japan with their sons Sidney, now 17, and Kit, 16. Jamie admitted that he was desperate for them to enjoy their time together without fear overshadowing the experience, so he “suppressed” the reality while waiting for biopsy results.
Speaking on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast, Jamie recalled undergoing emergency scans just before the trip, saying: “I didn’t tell anyone. At that stage, I thought it might not be cancer, so there was no point in saying anything. I just tried to suppress it. All I could think was, ‘It’s probably not.’” But when the biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, he finally told Sophie — and her reaction was heartbreaking. “She was distraught,” Jamie said, admitting that the news cast a quiet shadow over what had otherwise been a wonderful holiday.
The couple then had to break the news to their sons, which proved emotionally difficult. Jamie said that with teenagers, especially those who’ve seen a family member suffer from cancer, the word alone can be terrifying. “When you say you’ve got cancer to a 14-year-old, they think you’re going to die,” he recalled. His youngest son had been with him when they learned that Jamie’s mother had passed away from cancer in 2022, so he understood the weight of the diagnosis in a way that made the moment even harder. “I was so pleased she had died before I got cancer,” Jamie admitted quietly. “I would’ve hated for her to know. I’m not sure what that would’ve done to her.”
Before being declared cancer-free, Jamie underwent three separate operations to ensure all cancerous cells were removed. At one stage, surgeons warned they were getting dangerously close to taking so much of the vocal cord that he might not be able to speak again — a frightening prospect for someone whose livelihood depends on his voice. Thankfully, he made it through without losing the ability to talk.
Jamie returned to the Heart Breakfast studio in January after his recovery, receiving an emotional welcome from listeners, colleagues, and family members. During the show, audio clips played from those closest to him reacting to his diagnosis. His wife Sophie called in and said: “Hello darling. When we found out you had cancer, it was… wow, such a dark time.” His son Sidney added his own message: “Well done for getting through these past few months.”
Jamie also praised co-host Amanda Holden, calling her “amazing” and describing her as a “force of nature” for keeping the show running during his treatment. He even joked that the ordeal might have made him a “better broadcaster,” though it’s clear that the months surrounding his diagnosis were some of the most challenging of his life
