The Motorbike Show's Henry Cole diagnosed with gut cancer
The Motorbike Show presenter Henry Cole is battling gut cancer.
The Motorbike Show host Henry Cole has been diagnosed with gut cancer.
The 62-year-old star has postponed his live shows until after Christmas to undergo treatment for the disease, which he says is "localised" and "easy to operate on", and is hoping to "make a full recovery" before returning to work "around February".
In a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday (02.09.26), Henry said: "I’ve just got a little announcement, and that is, I’m terribly sorry. I’m going to have to move the gigs this side of Christmas, the live shows to after Christmas when we’ll rebook them.
"I’ll tell you why that is: it’s because I’ve got a little bit of the cancer. Down in my little gut here. It’s localised, it’s easy to operate on, and thank gosh we found it."
He continued: "So, I am told, God willing, that I will make a full recovery, and I’ll come up smiling around February, but please folks, please understand I’m so sorry, I didn’t obviously mean that to happen, but in the meantime, filming, look!
"Filming is not affected, but whatever happens, God sometimes does a small poo in your man bag, doesn’t he?
"But we’re gonna be OK, man, and also whatever life throws at you, you’ve got to grow old disgracefully.
"I’ll update you as I go. Lots of love!"
Henry's followers rushed to the post's comments section and gave their well-wishes.
Model Elizabeth Hurley, 61, penned: "I love you."
A fan typed: "Gutted to hear this. Wishing you a speedy recovery Henry!! (sic)"
A second supporter wrote: "Omg henry wish I could hug you right now get well soon look after yourself love you xxxxx (sic)."
And a third fan reacted: "Stop apologising!! Get it gone and get well asap Henry, there's nobody else worth watching on TV. Wishing you all the best (sic)."
The TV presenter previously battled a heroin addiction for five years, and he has been clean since 1988.
In 2019, Henry told The Telegraph: "I was spending £250 a day on heroin, drawing on my overdraft and what I could bleed from my little company. Luckily, I hadn’t signed any personal guarantees.
"In the late Eighties I became a virtual recluse. I couldn’t even face going out to get drugs and had them delivered by dispatch riders at a cost of £7,000 a year. Weirdly, the only people I ever saw were Luke and Matt Goss from the pop band Bros, who lived in the flat upstairs.
"I went into a serious mental decline and stopped paying the mortgage on the flat I shared with my then girlfriend, who left me. Not long after several failed suicide attempts, my belongings were repossessed."
After he worked as a cameraman and director, Henry - who has sons Charlie and Tom with his wife Janie - launched his own production company, HCA Entertainment.
It has made all the shows he presents, including Find It, Fix It, Flog It, World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides and Shed and Buried.
