Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts has bowel cancer

BBC Radio 1 presenter Adele Roberts has announced she is going to undergo surgery for bowel cancer.

Roberts, 42, who hosts Weekend Breakfast, said she was diagnosed at the start of the month and would have surgery to remove a tumour on Monday.

The former Big Brother star missed both her radio shows this weekend.

Radio 1 said it was sending "all our love and support" to the presenter and her girlfriend Kate Holderness "at this very difficult time".

"Everyone at Radio 1, along with millions of listeners, wishes her a speedy recovery and we look forward to welcoming Adele back on air soon," the statement added.

The radio DJ, from Southport, Merseyside, revealed her news in an Instagram post, saying she had sought medical advice after struggling with her digestion "for a while".

She wrote: "It's all happened so quickly and I'm so sorry to post something like this on here but I hope it helps anyone who might be worrying, or suffering in silence.

"As I've learned over the last few weeks, there's no 'normal' with cancer. Sadly it can affect anyone, at any age, anytime. It doesn't discriminate. Early detection can save your life."

She added: "I'm going to have surgery (on Monday) to remove the tumour and then see if I need anymore treatment or if the cancer has spread.

"So far the outlook is positive and I feel so lucky that I can be treated. It's just the start of my journey but I'm going to give it everything I've got."

In her post, she finished by saying she didn't know she would be writing something like this.

"The hardest thing wasn't even finding out I had cancer, it was telling my family. It broke my heart," she said.

"If you know any of them please look after them for me until I can see them again. Especially my Katie. I worry about her being on her own while I'm away."

Roberts rose to fame after appearing on the third series of Channel 4's Big Brother series in 2002. Contestants that year included ITV's This Morning presenter Alison Hammond, and Jade Goody, who died in 2009 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.

She joined the BBC in 2012 as part of the Radio 1 Xtra team, before moving to Radio 1 in 2015 to host the Early Breakfast Show. She took over the Weekend Breakfast programme earlier this year.

She also appeared on ITV's I'm a Celebrity in 2019, becoming the first contestant to be eliminated from the jungle.

Most people with these symptoms do not have bowel cancer, but the NHS advice is to see your GP if you have one or more of the symptoms and they have persisted for more than four weeks.

And if you, or someone you know, have been affected by cancer, information and support is available on the BBC's Action Line page.