Davina McCall broke down in tears on Heart FM on Monday after Jamie Theakston thanked her for unwittingly helping him discover he had cancer.
Jamie, 54, made an emotional return to host his breakfast show after taking a four-month break from work while he battled throat cancer.
In the London studio, the presenter – who is now free of the disease – was greeted by close pals Amanda Holden, Davina and Ashley Roberts.
The four presenters shared lots of hugs as they reunited on-air for the first time since Jamie’s health battle.
During the chat, Jamie revealed Davina’s unique role in helping him get diagnosed, as she struggled to hold back her emotions.
He was persuaded to book a doctors appointment after a strong hug from Davina in August left him in excruciating pain – leading him to be diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and booked in for operations to remove lesions from his vocal chord.
Davina McCall broke down in tears on Heart FM on Monday after Jamie Theakston thanked her for unwittingly helping him discover he had cancer
The cancer-free presenter revealed that she had in fact caused him to discover his illness
She said: ‘Can I be honest, when I hugged you that day here and you went, “ow ow ow”, I looked at you and I thought, “oh my goodness I’ve really really hurt him.”
‘You looked genuinely in agony and I thought, “I’m sure I didn’t hug you that [hard]”, but I felt I carried that for a very long time.’
She then began to choke up and said: ‘And you, I’m sorry, getting better means so much to me.’
Jamie replied: ‘Well, listen, without you doing that I would not have known there was something wrong with my throat. So in actual fact it wasn’t that you did any damage, it was the opposite.’
The presenter then addressed his co-hosts own illness, after Davina, 57, returned to radio after surviving a brain tumour in 2024.
Davina was recently forced to have surgery after doctors discovered a benign tumour on her brain that affects three in a million people.
Jamie said: ‘Can I also say you look amazing?’
She responded: ‘It’s been a rollercoaster and it’s weirdly been quite nice being simultaneously trying to get through something with you.
‘Do you remember when I told you about it when I was on Heart?’
He asked: ‘Why did you get checked?’
Davina replied: ‘Okay so this was mad. We did a big menopause, me and Dame Lesley and Rupal said, “we’d like to gift you a health check”, so I did but I came away with a colloid cyst which is incredibly rare. And it’s gone!’
She then hugged Jamie as the heart-warming scenes on air continued.
Jamie made an emotional return to host his Heart FM Breakfast show on Monday – after taking a four month break from work while he battled laryngeal cancer
In the London studio, the presenter, 54, was greeted by close pals Amanda Holden (right) Davina and Ashley Roberts
Jamie announced he had been diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer in October 2024, after listeners had noticed there was something not quite right with his voice.
Laryngeal cancer is a type of cancer that affects the larynx (voice box).
After undergoing three life-changing surgeries and being told he had ‘a one in six chance he might not be able to talk again’, Jamie revealed last week that he was free from the disease and would be back on the radio full-time.
As he began work on Monday morning with his co-host Amanda, 53, Jamie said: ‘Thanks to everyone for making this morning feel very, very special. Thanks for your (the listeners’) messages as well.’
Amanda then added: ‘We are so happy to welcome him back!’
To which Jamie said: ‘Four months I have waited for this moment!’ as Amanda said: ‘It feels longer it feels more like five months.’
During the programme, audio clips were played from Jamie’s colleagues, friends and family talking about his cancer diagnosis.
His wife, Sophie Siegle, said: ‘Hello, darling. It’s me, Sophie. When we found out you had cancer, it was wow, such a dark time’.
His son, Sidney, added: ‘Well done for getting through these past few months.’
The four presenters shared lots of hugs as they reunited on-air for the first time since Jamie’s cancer battle (Davina and Ashley Roberts pictured)
Davina also appeared emotional as she returned to radio after surviving a brain tumour in 2024
After the audio played, Amanda said: ‘What an amazing man you are. You really fought very hard, Jamie, you’ve kept your sense of humour, which is the most important thing, I think.
‘And isn’t it wonderful? It’s a terrible thing to go through, but it’s a wonderful thing to see how many people love you.’
Also on the programme, Jamie encouraged listeners to check themselves and said: ‘Ignoring cancer won’t beat it.
‘Cancer loves being ignored. It’s a coward that lives in the shadows, and I think that, if we can shine a light on that, then we can defeat the darkness.
‘If we just get ourselves checked, then stage one diagnosis, which is what I was very fortunate enough to be at, shouldn’t be a problem, but I do, I urge you to go and get checked.’
On Friday Jamie revealed he was cancer free as he made a joyful appearance on Heart FM and told how he would be back full time on Monday.
He said: ‘Today is the four-month anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. So it’s been four months, and I’ve had enough of hospitals and operations, and it’s just lovely to be back, and I’ve got some news for you. Because I can tell you that as of today, I’m cancer free.
‘Anyone who’s been through what I’ve been through will know it’s kind of you just get a barrage of statistics.
‘So they’ll always tell you in the first one, when I got my diagnosis which came as an enormous shock, by the way, I was fully intended to be told that I had a sore throat.
‘And when I was told, “oh, it’s probably cancer”, just, literally, I just didn’t even know what to say. I mean, it just blew my mind. And so then it’s all about statistics. So the first is go, “well, you’ll have a one in ten chance you won’t survive it”.
Jamie looked emotional as he posed for snaps alongside Amanda outside the radio studios
‘And you kind of go, ‘oh okay, I’ll take that’. And then I had to do several surgeries. So, the first surgery wasn’t as successful as we hoped. Had a second surgery, and then a third surgery, and each time, I was doing more and more damage to my vocal cords.
‘So, in actual fact, by the third one, they said, ‘well, look, you’ve got a one in six chance you might not be able to talk again’.
‘And so, then you kind of think, ‘oh, okay, that’s like rolling a dice’, yeah, I’ll take that. And so, there’s just a kind of, it’s just statistics after statistics.’
His Heart FM co-host Amanda said: ‘Well, you should be very buoyed by that because, yes, it was huge news when it all happened.
‘It was devastating for us all to hear it. But we are so thrilled that you sound great and you are in the studio.’
Taking to Instagram, Jamie wrote: ‘Nice try cancer, but I’m still here! CANCER FREE. Difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations, and after 3 surgeries and 4 months of vocal therapy, I’m back baby !!
‘Come share the love, Heart Breakfast, Monday morning @thisisheart @noholdenback.’
Jamie pictured with his wife Sophie Siegle in 2017
At the time he revealed his diagnosis last year, Jamie said: ‘Hi folks, as you know – I recently had an operation to remove a lesion from my vocal chords.
‘The biopsy has identified this as Stage 1 Laryngeal cancer. So I have cancer but cancer doesn’t have me!
‘The prognosis is very positive and I’m hoping to be back with you in October. Until then, I’ve been told to give my voice a rest and leave you in the mostly capable hands of JK and Amanda.
‘Huge thanks to them and all the Global family who have been unbelievably supportive. Be thankful for this day, and when I see you next, I’ll have a great story to tell.’
In September 2024, Jamie had said he had got himself checked out after some of listeners had noticed something wasn’t quite right with his voice.
According to the NHS, symptoms of laryngeal cancer include a change in your voice, such as sounding hoarse, pain when swallowing, a lump or swelling in your neck, a long-lasting cough or breathlessness, a persistent sore throat or earache and, in the most severe cases, difficulty breathing.
In the UK, there are more than 2,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer each year. The condition is more common in people over the age of 60, and it’s more common in men than women.
Jamie – who is married to Sophie Siegle – wrote on Instagram: ‘Sooo – a few of you listeners have noticed my voice hasn’t sounded right these past few weeks – I’ve got you to thank.
‘Got it checked. Doctors found a lesion on my vocal chords which I’ve had removed this weekend – thanks for all the kind messages – should be back on my feet soon – in the meantime…’ and finished the post with a zip-up mouth emoji.
Previous posts on Heart FM’s Instagram account showed fans expressing concern for Jamie’s voice , with one comment under a clip from August 22 saying: ‘Jamie you need to sort your bad throat out.’
Jamie also appeared in a clip posted on August 23, where he and Zoe announced the winners of a £30,000 giveaway.
Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 across the UK and on Global Player.
