Former Top of the Pops host Reggie called his health struggles one of the ‘hardest moments’ in his life
BBC star Reggie Yates has revealed that he underwent surgery after receiving a tumour diagnosis as he provided his fans with a candid health update.
Making his TV debut at the age of eight in the Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s, Reggie went on to play Carl Fenton in the popular children’s series Grange Hill. The 42-year-old landed his first major presenting gig on the Sunday morning children’s programme Smile.
Following the success of Smile, Reggie and his co-star Fearne Cotton began presenting Top of the Pops together. The pair were the beloved music series final presenters when it came to an end back in 2006.
Since then Reggie has gone on to play Leo Jones in Doctor Who, present various shows on BBC Radio 1 and even host the first two seasons of The Voice UK with Holly Willoughby.
Also focusing on making documentaries in recent years, Reggie revealed on Sunday (January 11) that last year saw him go through one of his ‘hardest moments’ in life when a tumour was discovered on his hand.
Initially deciding to hide his condition in order to ‘heal and move on’, Reggie went public with his health struggles in a new post he wrote on his Substack page for his fans.
He said: “I was wearing my own little lump of uncertainty. A Tumour. 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.”
Despite being scared, Reggie noted that he found it hard not to laugh when he had to wear a gown and compression socks while in hospital. The period led to him learning ‘a lot’ about himself and his loved ones.
“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,” he said.
Sharing a link to his story on Instagram, Reggie wrote: “NEW YEAR, OLD TUMOUR… Funny what you can learn from a little lump of cells.”
The comments section of Reggie’s post saw a host of his famous friends and fans commending him for his honesty and wishing him well looking forward towards the future.
The Marvels actress Zawe Ashton said: “Angel, I’ll read, had no idea. Thinking of you – truly hope you’re okay.” Musician Vannessa Amadi added: “Similar story! Here’s to healthy and restful year.”
@evieintheworld wrote: “I hope it’s a year of healing recovery and abundance.” @deesha_g posted: “Thinking of you Mr Yates… with age comes all these beautiful chapters to our story called life.”
@naomialexiayoung commented: “Very important to celebrate the silent battles won. Thanks for the reminder.” @whitb_x stated: “Cheers to new year more health, brother.”
