BBC TV Presenter Adrian Chiles Reveals Frightening Diagnosis After Noticing One Change

He thought it was nothing — just a harmless little bump on his back. But that tiny growth would hurl the beloved TV presenter into a chilling ordeal of cancer fears, medical silence, and weeks of torment that left him fearing the worst.

In a gripping new essay published Wednesday, 3 December, The Guardian columnist and longtime broadcaster, 58-year-old Adrian Chiles, opened up about the shocking discovery that would send him spiraling into weeks of uncertainty, fear, and maddening silence from the NHS.

It all began when he noticed a strange, unsettling growth on the back of his shoulder — and the moment he heard the word "carcinoma," his world shifted.

"I had this thing on the back of my shoulder, which a dermatologist at an NHS hospital looked at. He was brisk, verging on brusque. He said it was either one complicated-sounding thing or the other, but I distinctly heard the word 'carcinoma' in there somewhere," Chiles wrote.

A Cold, Brisk Diagnosis — And A Dismissive Reply

The chilling word wasn't even confirmed — not yet. But the doctor's cold tone and ambiguous response left Chiles rattled. He was told the growth needed to be removed and tested. But when he asked when the procedure would take place, the reply? "We'll write to you."

Chiles, increasingly uneasy, pushed back — suggesting that if the growth was cancerous, perhaps they should hurry. The doctor's response only deepened the dread:

"Oh, it won't make any difference now. The only thing that would have made any difference was if you'd come sooner."

The remark haunted him. "I even flirted with the idea of interpreting 'won't make any difference now' as his way of saying I was doomed anyway," Chiles confessed.

'Thank My Lucky Stars' — A Private Plea For Reassurance

Desperate for clarity — and comfort — Chiles turned to private care. He reached out to a dermatologist and a GP he'd previously consulted. Both reassured him he would be okay.

"I thanked my lucky stars that I'm privileged to have access to such people," he wrote. Two weeks later, he returned to the hospital for the excision. But even then, more uncertainty followed.

Before the procedure, the same dermatologist remarked that he was "pretty sure" the growth was a carcinoma. Afterward, Chiles was sent home to await results — with no way to contact the doctor if complications arose.

"If [...] like in some horror film, the excised growth reanimated and came bursting up through the stitches, I had no means of contacting this dermatologist," he said.

A Letter Arrives — But It's The Wrong One

Seven agonizing days later, a letter arrived from the hospital. With "trembling hands," Chiles opened it — only to discover it wasn't the results. It was a notification for the original appointment he'd already attended.

"Terrific," he wrote, with dry exasperation. "And still no one to speak to."

Nearly two more weeks passed. Then, a new notification arrived via the NHS app — but still no results. Instead, he was scheduled for two new dermatology appointments: one at a new hospital, 200 miles away, and another in March back at the original location.

"The first appointment was presumably to give me the bad news — that I was done for — and the second would be just to check I was dead," Chiles quipped grimly.

He tried arranging a phone appointment, but hit a wall: centralized admin centers, unanswered emails, dead ends.

Finally — The Call That Changed Everything

Weeks of torment, silence, and spiraling thoughts were finally broken when the result came in — earlier than expected.

"It was a squamous cell carcinoma. All removed and won't spread. So not nothing, but not serious. Needs keeping an eye on," Chiles shared. The relief was palpable — but so was the frustration over how the ordeal had been handled.

A Man Who Tried To Live Right — And Still Faced A Scare

Chiles' terrifying health scare came despite his efforts to stay fit and active. The TV host has previously said he does "lots of exercise" — from running and cycling to weight lifting — in a bid to take care of his body. But even he admitted the limits of his regimen:

"As far as keeping my weight down, I don't think it does much good because I end up eating more — sort of eating to run and running to eat."

But the TV star's complicated relationship with health didn't start with cancer. In recent years, he's been open and brutally honest about his lifelong battle with alcohol — a struggle he once thought he had under control.

'I've Always Assumed I Don't Have An Issue' — But He Did

In his 2018 BBC2 documentary "Drinkers Like Me" and his 2022 book "The Good Drinker: How I Learned to Love Drinking Less," Chiles exposed how deeply ingrained alcohol was in his life.

He had his first drink at 12 or 13 at a family event. By 16, he was drinking daily — and didn't stop.

"I don't put loads away compared to other people, nor misbehave or get drunk and fall over, so I've always assumed I don't have an issue," he said in 2018. "But I've come to realise I'm dependent on alcohol."

He began counting his weekly alcohol units via an app. What he saw was shocking. "It's recommended you don't have more than 14 units per week and one Saturday I had 32 alone! I was easily in triple figures for the week, which was scary," he confessed.

Liver Damage, High Blood Pressure, And A Moment Of Reckoning

Doctors told Chiles he had scarring on his liver — early signs of cirrhosis that could eventually lead to liver failure. He also struggled with gastric issues, high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression — many of them exacerbated by drinking.

Even after cutting back, he admitted:

"I was still drinking twice the recommended amount per week... I didn't realise what a quiet, vice-like grip drinking had on my life."

But now — facing the dual shock of cancer and the slow damage from alcohol — Chiles is a man on a mission. A mission to survive, to change, and to speak bluntly about the things we so often keep in the dark.