Johnny Ball is happy to be alive - three years after secret cancer battle
Johnny Ball feels grateful to still be alive after he secretly battled - and beat - prostate cancer in 2022.
Johnny Ball says it is "great to still be here" after his secret prostate cancer battle.
The 87-year-old TV legend was diagnosed with the disease in August 2022 during an annual blood test when doctors found his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was "about 30, and it was supposed to be down to less than three".
And after "three months" of "daily radiation treatment", which began in September that year, he is now cancer-free.
Appearing on Monday (29.09.25) morning's edition of ITV's Good Morning Britain, he told co-anchors Ed Balls, 58, and 54 year old Susanna Reid: "It's great to be here - still here!
"It was three years ago in 2022 when I had it and went through it.
"Suddenly, I'm told I've got cancer, and I had a few days where I was thinking, 'Well, how do I sort things out? How do I say goodbye to everybody?'
"And then I went for the test, and the test was very good, and the treatment I got was tremendous from the moment we started.
"And suddenly, they said, 'Yeah, you've got prostate cancer, but it's not in the rest of your body.'"
Johnny - who says he had no symptoms beforehand - urges men to take a PSA test.
He said: "I had a PSA test, and it was up at 30.
"And [a PSA test is a] thing you've got to do, that's the thing for everybody, all men - 50 and over - have a PSA test because it [detects] prostate [cancer] immediately, and they can treat it."
Johnny's first wife, Julia Peckham, died of pancreatic cancer in April 2024.
Johnny previously revealed he did not tell his family - including his and Julia's daughter, BBC Radio 2 host Zoe Ball - about his diagnosis straightaway.
Speaking about why he chose to keep it from them, the Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 star explained: "When I told her, I was in treatment. But I knew I was in treatment to come out. I knew that was the case."
Susanna then asked Johnny: "Because you didn't want to tell your family if you found out it wasn't curable?"
He replied: "You save it for a while, you do save it for a while because sooner or later, you've got to tell them and discuss that.
"But that's OK, the joy of the thing is, I'm totally through it now, three years down the line, now.
"So, I'm so happy to talk about it to get fellas of 50 and above to get checked."
