Alex Kingston reveals horror moment that led to her uterine cancer diagnosis
In an emotional new interview, actress Alex Kingston revealed she didn’t realise she was stricken with uterine cancer until after she started haemorrhaging on stage.
Alex Kingston didn’t realise she was stricken with uterine cancer until after she started haemorrhaging on stage.
Opening up about why she chose to speak publicly about the illness after initially keeping it private in an emotional interview, the Doctor Who and ER actress, 62, reflected on the horror moment she realised something was seriously wrong, and explained how she initially believed the symptoms she experienced were simply part of getting older.
Alex told the April issue of Prima magazine: “I hadn't realised that uterine cancer was a cancer that didn’t get much airtime.
“I think it's probably because on the whole, it is a cancer where if you recognise something is wrong, your body is able to tell you. And if it's caught early enough, it is survivable.”
Alex added: “Because I'm such a positive person, even though my body was trying to tell me that something was very wrong, I wasn’t reading the signs.
“I thought that all the things such as the bloating and weight gain, or injuries not healing properly, were because of my age.
“I thought, ‘This is what it’s like to be in your 60s, and it’s just part and parcel of getting older’.
“It was only when I was doing a play and I started haemorrhaging on stage that I realised, ‘Oh there’s something going on.’ But even then, I thought maybe I’d got a burst fibroid. I never, ever went down the cancer road, so it was a shock.”
Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Alex initially chose not to discuss the diagnosis publicly, explaining she wanted to maintain privacy while continuing her work and television appearances.
She said: “I kept it quiet for a long time. I'm quite a private person and I felt, ‘Why should I talk about my cancer?’ and also on Strictly (Come Dancing), I thought ‘I don't want my journey to be about my sickness’. I wanted it to be about going forwards and life affirmation.”
Alex added: “But then I realised when I started to get responses from people that, actually, this is important. If nothing else, it's important to encourage people that if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way, don't just write it off as being old or suddenly becoming gluten intolerant.
“It could be something else and to go and have it checked. So I feel now that it was a good thing that I opened up about it.”
During her time on Strictly Come Dancing, Alex danced with professional partner Johannes Radebe.
She also reflected on criticism she received from judge Craig Revel Horwood during the programme.
Alex said: “When I did the Strictly Halloween ‘Horny’ number, I wasn't fully aware of the scathing critique Craig had given me about looking like a woman who is having a midlife crisis.
“I didn’t realise that he was saying it or know about the follow-through in terms of people saying, ‘That’s just outrageous, how dare you say something like that?’”
Alex added: “It was a little mean-spirited for Craig to say that and also I just felt like it's exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to advocate. It's like, no, if you want to dance and swing a devil's tail around and you're in your 90s, do it. I mean, this is your life. So live it!”
Alex also spoke about her outlook on ageing.
She said: “I’ve never spent time thinking about my age. I know I’m getting older, but I do try to just live in the moment.”
Alex added: “And I’ve never felt like I have to subscribe to the norms or the rules that have been set about how one should behave at a certain age.
“I’ve always been like that, even with how I choose to dress, never following or conforming to whatever the fashion of that particular year is supposed to be. I’ve always found my own style, which is an expression of me and who I am. In a sense, I’ve also applied that to how I live day to day and to ageing.”
The full interview appears in the April 2026 issue of Prima magazine, on sale now.
