EX-CELEBRITY Big Brother star and radio legend James Whale has died aged 74 following a battle with cancer.
The revered Talk presenter, who took part in the reality show in 2016, had been diagnosed with stage-four kidney cancer in 2020.
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In a heartbreaking update during his show, James revealed this month he had just weeks to live as he moved into the final stages of his terminal battle.
“I’m actually in my last couple of weeks. Last time I saw my oncologist, he said I probably have only got weeks to go,” James, 74, told viewers from his home on Saturday June 21.
“Over the 50 years, I have interviewed and chatted to some of the most amazing people. It may have been you. Maybe we’ll catch up for the last time.”
Later, when a viewer named Paula called in, he confessed how emotional he has been about his prognosis.
He told her: “I spend a lot of time crying. And it really, it’s a bit embarrassing, Paula, to be quite honest with you.
“I’m heading into the sunset and I talk about it regularly on the show and you know it’s interesting because now everybody talks about it.
“Not me, not mine, but their own, you know, they don’t feel that they’re doing it quite right without having a cancer to talk about.”
Back at the beginning of May, James told viewers that his condition had worsened, treatment was no longer working and he would “be lucky to make it to Christmas”.
He explained: “I’m at the end of my cancer journey. There is no treatment I can have anymore.”
That same month, James celebrated his 74th birthday with loved ones.
It comes after he spent Christmas in intensive care before being discharged from the ICU on December 30.
His relieved wife Nadine told fans at the time: “After a worrying week I am happy to report that @THEJamesWhale is out of ICU and back at home, having batted off the Grim Reaper yet again.
“This time he tried with a bout of Influenza A, but without success.”
After battling kidney cancer in 2000, James launched the charity Kidney Cancer UK to increase knowledge and awareness, funding research into the causes, prevention and treatment of the disease.
He had fathered two kids with Melinda Maxted, James and Peter, before she herself was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
Melinda died in May 2018, just three months after James made the announcement of her diagnosis.
In 2020, James revealed the disease had returned and spread to his spine, brain and lungs, and has shared his ongoing cancer battle candidly with listeners and viewers over the past few years.
A year later, on his 70th birthday, James announced his engagement to Nadine Lamont-Brown, before marrying her in October of that year.
The powerhouse presenter had been a staple of the airwaves for over 50 years and was awarded an MBE in the 2023 King’s New Year Honours List for his outstanding contribution to broadcasting.
At the time, he told The Sun: “I’m exceptionally thrilled as somebody who’s been able to enjoy their job for their entire life and receiving an award like this is just the best.”
James celebrated the milestone with hundreds of pals at an £80,000 bash in Mayfair – paid for by millionaire Charlie Mullins and organised by his pals Chuck Thomas and Andre Walker.
He had also received the first-ever TRIC Recognition Award for his outstanding work across 50 years.
James began his career with Metro Radio in 1974 where he pioneered the concept of the late night radio phone-in.
Five decades later, James was still heard hosting the phone-in, every Saturday night, on TalkTV and TalkRadio.
His late-night series, the James Whale Show, which was broadcast live simultaneously on Radio Aire in Leeds and ITV in the 1980s, made the genre famous.
In 1988, after gaining a loyal legion of listeners who loved his unique acerbic and incisive style, The James Whale Radio Show was simulcast live on television every Friday night on ITV, pulling in over one million viewers.
‘GIANT OF RADIO AND TELEVISION’
James went on to host Whale On, Dial Midnight and Central Weekend Live for ITV, Talk About for BBC One, and more recently appeared on Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother.
2008 saw his autobiography, A Lifetime Of Night-Time, published as well as him falling into hot water after he urged listeners on TalkSport to vote for Boris Johnson in that year’s London mayoral election.
The acerbic and outspoken host was reportedly suspended again in 2018 after appearing to laugh at a guest who was speaking about her rape on air.
The much-loved presenter had also hosted a range of shows on BBC local radios and LBC, before appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016 for its eighteenth series.
He was the sixth person to be evicted on the reality show, coming in ninth place overall.
Late in 2016, James began covering shows on TalkRadio, before becoming a host himself of a Monday to Thursday evening show.
Most recently, he held the 10pm to 1am slot on a Friday night on TalkRadio, a time described as his “spiritual home”.
In early 2024, James was awarded the first ever TRIC Recognition Award for his 50 years in broadcasting, with his “true grit and determination to entertain and inform the nation every week”, not least in the face of his illness.
At the time of the award, Richard Wallace, Head of TalkTV, said: “There are legends – and then there’s James Whale.
“This award is a fitting acknowledgment of a maverick talent who has entertained TV and radio audiences with inimitable style for more than 50 years.”
Dennie Morris, Director of Audio, News Broadcasting, added: “James is not only a giant of radio and television, but one of the loveliest men I’ve ever met.
“His contribution to the industry and to charity over the years has been remarkable.
“I can think of no one more deserving of this honour.”
