Former BBC star Giles Coren, 55 reveals shock prostate cancer diagnosis

The food critic wrote about his diagnosis in his column

The BBC star announced the news of Friday, revealing he learned of the diagnosis at 9.30am on Wednesday.

Writing in The Times he said he first got tested a few years ago after taking notice of the huge issue when celebrities Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull both announced their diagnoses.

Coren received a prostate-specific antigen test result of four, which is considered as 'abnormal and facing imminent death'.

His doctor told him his prostate cancer is a 'slow cancer' which 'all men get' if they live long enough. He was sent for an MRI scan but refused a biopsy when the result came back inconclusive.

The former presenter of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby recounted the story in his column saying that he agreed to an examination at the Royal Free Hospital in North London.

Before then, his score increased to six and then seven. This was from the original ruling of four. Doctors found less than a millimetre of cancer in just three of the 21 samples he provided.

His cancer, which was described as a malign tumour, would not need treatment for the time being but he was told it would be monitored for growth.

Coren has been a critic for The Times since 2002 and was named Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2005.

Born in Paddington, Coren is the son of journalist and humorist Alan Coren and the brother of comedian Victoria Coren Mitchell.

Prostate Cancer UK say that there are more than 44,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, with 10,000 men dying from the illness each year.

It is estimated that 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime and there are more than 440,000 men currently living with and after prostate cancer in England.

The website reads: "The cancer mainly affects men over 50, and your risk increases with age. The risk is even higher for black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer."