Jamie Theakston made an emotional return to present her Heart FM Breakfast show on Monday morning, after taking a four-month break from work while battling laryngeal cancer.
The radio host, 54, announced he had been diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer in October 2024, after listeners noticed something wasn’t quite right about 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 of never being able to speak again”, Jamie revealed last week that he was free of the disease and would return to radio in time complete.
As he started work on Monday morning with his co-host Amanda Holden, Jamie said: “Thank you all for making this morning very, very special.” Thank you also for your messages (those of the listeners).’
Amanda then added: ‘We are so happy to welcome you back!’
Jamie Theakston made an emotional return to present her Heart FM Breakfast show on Monday morning, after taking a four-month break from work while battling laryngeal cancer.

As he started work on Monday morning with his co-host Amanda Holden, Jamie said: “Thank you all for making this morning very, very special.”
To which Jamie replied: ‘I’ve been waiting four months for this moment!’ as Amanda said: “It feels longer, more like five months.”
During the show, audio clips were played of Jamie’s colleagues, friends and family talking about his cancer diagnosis.
His wife, Sophie Siegle, said: “Hello, darling.” It’s me, Sofia. “When we found out you had cancer, it was a very dark time.”
His son, Sidney, added: “Congratulations on getting through these last few months.”
After playing the audio, Amanda said: ‘What a wonderful man you are. You really fought hard Jamie, you’ve kept your sense of humour, which I think is the most important thing.
‘And isn’t it wonderful? It’s a terrible thing to go through, but it’s wonderful to see how many people love you.’
Also on the show, Jamie encouraged listeners to examine themselves, saying, “Ignoring cancer won’t beat it.”
‘Cancer loves to be ignored. He is a coward who lives in the shadows, and I believe that if we can illuminate that, then we can defeat the darkness.’

After undergoing three life-changing surgeries and being told he had a “one in six chance of never being able to speak again”, Jamie revealed last week that he was free of the disease.

On Instagram, Jamie recently wrote: ‘Nice try with 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!!’

Jamie surprised fans with her diagnosis in an Instagram post last year.
“If we just get a check-up, then the stage one diagnosis, which is the one I was lucky enough to be in, shouldn’t be a problem, but I do, I urge you to go and get a check-up.”
On Friday, Jamie revealed she was cancer-free while making a cheerful appearance on Heart FM and said she would return full-time on Monday.
He said: ‘Today marks the fourth month of my cancer diagnosis. It’s been four months and I’m already sick of hospitals and operations, and it’s just wonderful to be back, and I have some news for you. Because I can tell you that as of today I am cancer free.
‘Anyone who’s been through what I’ve been through will know that it’s like being inundated with statistics.
‘That’s how they will always tell you in the first one, when I received my diagnosis, which was a huge shock, by the way, I had every intention of being told I had a sore throat.
“And when they told me, ‘Oh, it’s probably cancer,’ I literally didn’t even know what to say.” I mean, it just blew my mind. And then it’s all about statistics. So the first is to say, “Well, you’re going to have a one in ten chance of not surviving.”
And you say, ‘Oh, okay, I’ll take it.’ And then I had to do several surgeries. So the first surgery was not as successful as we had hoped. I had a second surgery, and then a third surgery, and each time, my vocal cords became more and more damaged.
“So actually, in the third one, they said, ‘Well, look, you have a one in six chance that you’re never going to be able to talk again.'”
“And then you think, ‘oh, okay, that’s like rolling a dice,’ yeah, I’ll take that.” And so there’s kind of statistic after statistic.”
Her Heart FM co-presenter Amanda said: “Well, that should really cheer you up because, yeah, it was big news when it all happened.”
“It was devastating for all of us to hear. But we are very excited for it to sound great and to be in the studio.”
On Instagram, Jamie wrote: ‘Nice try with 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.’
Plenty of Jamie’s famous friends flooded her comments with relief, with co-star Ashley Roberts writing: ‘He’s back!! ‘
Piers Morgan added: “Good news Jamie.” Vicky Pattison wrote: “Woohoooooo!!!!” “Best news ever,” added Sean Walsh: “Come in.”
When he revealed his diagnosis last year, Jamie said: ‘Hello friends, as you know, I recently had surgery to remove a lesion on my vocal cords.
‘The biopsy has identified this as stage 1 laryngeal cancer. So I have cancer but the cancer doesn’t have me!
‘The prognosis is very positive and I hope to return to you in October. Until then, I’ve been told to give my voice a rest and leave you in the more capable hands of JK and Amanda.
‘Many thanks to them and to the entire Global family who have supported us incredibly. Be grateful for this day and the next time I see you I will have a great story to tell.’
In September 2024, Jamie said she had had it checked after some listeners noticed something wasn’t quite right with her voice.
According to the NHS, symptoms of laryngeal cancer include a change in voice such as a hoarse sound, pain when swallowing, a lump or swelling in the neck, prolonged cough or shortness of breath, persistent throat or ear pain, 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 60 years of age and is more common in men than women.
Jamie, who is married to Sophie Siegle, wrote on Instagram: “Well, some of you listeners have noticed that my voice hasn’t sounded good in recent weeks. I have to thank you.”

On September 1, he shared this post thanking listeners for spotting something wrong with his voice, who quickly checked it out.

Jamie photographed with his wife Sophie Siegle in 2017

The couple welcomed their first child, Sidney, in April 2008, before having their second child, Kit, in September 2009.
‘I’ve checked it. The doctors found a lesion on my vocal cords which they removed this weekend – thanks for all the kind messages – I should recover soon – in the meantime…’ and ended the post with a zipper mouth emoji. .
Previous posts on Heart FM’s Instagram account showed fans expressing concern about Jamie’s voice, with one comment under a clip from August 22 saying: “Jamie you need to fix your throat problem.”
Jamie also appeared in a clip posted on August 23, where he and Zoe announced the winners of a £30,000 prize draw.
Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 10:00 across the UK and on Global Player.