News Beat
BBC icon Reggie Yates ‘feared losing use of hand’ after tumour surgery
BBC star Reggie Yates has opened up about a deeply unsettling period in his life after doctors discovered a tumour in his hand, prompting surgery and an anxious wait over whether it was cancerous.
The 42-year-old, best known for his work across the BBC and as a former Radio 1 presenter, described the episode as one of the toughest moments he has faced.
Writing on his Substack, Yates reflected on the strange psychological weight of carrying what he called ‘a little lump of uncertainty’ on his hand, where he was constantly reminded of it.
He wrote: ‘A collection of cells that could be benign or cancerous. Then followed a fun week of waiting to find out which version of lump my body decided to grow. I wasn’t ashamed, I was a willing participant in an uncoupling.’
The tumour has since been removed, and Yates says he is now focused on recovery and perspective.
He has spoken about wanting to mark the experience not with dread, but by ‘celebrating the battles won’ and allowing himself to heal, physically and emotionally, after the scare.
He wrote: ‘You learn a lot about who you’re becoming when you go from fears of losing the use of your hand in February, to delivering your publisher a novel typed by that same hand in December…’
On Instagram, he summed it up more succinctly, noting how much a ‘little lump of cells’ can teach you when it suddenly reorders your priorities.
Career-wise, Reggie shot to fame as a child when he worked in acting, with his roles including children’s TV show Grange Hill.
He grew up in an ‘inner-London council estate’, with his mum pushing him into performing by taking him to acting classes run by a local woman who was charging £2.50 per lesson.
After securing his big break, Reggie also presented on CITV and CBBC, including Only in America with Fearne Cotton.
Reggie later left the profession for a career in radio broadcasting.
Readers will most likely know Reggie for his shows on BBC Radio 1, including theChart Show, which he originally presented alongside Fearne from 2007 until 2009, after which he flew solo.
In addition to the chart show, Reggie also presented The Radio 1 Request Show on Saturdays, where listeners could send in a text or phone in to request a song.
In 2012, Reggie announced his departure from Radio 1 and his final show aired in December that year.
Since then, Reggie’s CV has continued to flourish, having presented shows such as Release The Hounds and, in 2021, he released his first feature film as writer/director, Pirates.
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