Grandstand host and sports presenting legend Steve Rider has revealed he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The 73-year-old shared the news on Wednesday morning as he admitted doctors have told him he requires urgent surgery in order to prevent the cancer's development and spread.
He said of his diagnosis: "I’m a great convert to the work of Prostate Cancer UK because on Saturday I need quite an urgent operation.
"The whole process from getting myself checked, to diagnosis, to operation has taken about two months. I consider myself to be extremely lucky," he continued.
Rider admitted he was somewhat relaxed about the entire ordeal at first but decided to get himself checked following fellow broadcaster Nick Owen's diagnosis.
"My reading was a little bit high, but being a bloke, you can live with that," he said.
Steve Rider presented on ITV as well
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"No symptoms or anything like that," he continued before he revealed his wife stepped in.
"My wife is, thankfully, far more sensible and far more tuned in to these things. We went off and into the examination procedure and into the X-rays and so on.
"By that time I was pretty tuned in to the whole system," Rider said.
Rider then detailed how he'd gone to the doctors to retrieve his results just one day after he'd taken part in a charity walk for prostate cancer in the name of Bill Turnbull.
The presenter was joined by other A-list names from the world of sports presenting including Jeff Stelling prior to picking up the results.
But he soon went to the doctors and explained: "I went in and they said I need to be operated on as soon as possible and to clear the diary for the next three weeks.
"It’s all contained within the prostate, so it gives us the opportunity to have significant surgery and cure the whole thing that way.
"If it becomes more advanced, the future is a little bit more bleak for people.
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Steve Rider broke the news on BBC Breakfast
BBC
"We have caught it in time that surgery is really gonna knock this on the head. I’ve been so lucky," he added on BBC Breakfast.
Rider's career in the spotlight has seen him front some of the biggest sporting events across both the BBC and ITV.
