BBC's Nick Owen back at work after cancer treatment

BBC TV presenter Nick Owen said returning to screens on Monday after surgery for aggressive prostate cancer will be "a landmark".

The 75-year-old presenter of Midlands Today said he was feeling "pretty good" following a "turbulent" time.

"I'm a bit fragile still but so much better than I've been in the last few months," he said.

"So this is a landmark time for me."

Owen, who celebrates 50 years in broadcasting in November, will return to the sofa one day a week initially as he continues to recover.

Having hosted the regional news programme since 1997, he said going back on air after an extended break would feel "quite strange".

"I'm slightly apprehensive, but once I've done the first one it's like the old getting back on your bike again, it should be fine. But it is slightly daunting, the thought of it," he added.

"I think my heart will be beating that little bit faster than usual."

He is awaiting the results of his first PSA test since the operation, which he hopes will give him the all clear.

"It's a bit of a tense time waiting to hear," he said.

Owen was left emotional on learning a prostate cancer charity had been contacted by thousands of men after he spoke publicly about his diagnosis.

"I'm really thrilled by that and very moved," he said.

Owen is widely known for his TV work, including co-hosting BBC One programme Good Morning with Anne and Nick with Anne Diamond in the 1990s.

He previously thanked audiences for the "astonishing response" after he spoke publicly about his illness in August, also appearing on BBC Breakfast to urge more men to take part in prostate cancer screenings.

"It was a massive release to be able to tell everyone what was going on so I didn't have to keep it to myself any more," he said.

Prostate Cancer UK said the broadcaster's revelation had made a sizeable impact, with Google searches for the condition increasing 254% in the following 48 hours.

The number of contacts made to specialist nurses also increased, the charity added.

"If it's done some good and it seems to have done, I'm absolutely thrilled. That was the whole purpose really, of telling the world," he said.

The former Luton Town FC chairman, who lives with wife Vicki in Kinver, Staffordshire, said the support of family, friends and colleagues since his diagnosis had been "so encouraging".

"It's meant so much because your body and your mind takes a mighty battering when you go through something like this," he says.

"I now know from first hand how incredibly debilitating it is and demoralising and lowering and how vulnerable you feel.

"These last few months have been really incredibly tough and challenging but I've learned an awful lot about the kindness of people and how people care and are there to support you."