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BBC newsreader George Alagiah to undergo further cancer treatment

BBC News presenter / newsreader George Alagiah on the set of BBC World News. 21/04/2006. (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
BBC News presenter / newsreader George Alagiah on the set of BBC World News.(Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

BBC newsreader George Alagiah is to begin a new round of treatment after his cancer returned.

The 63-year-old will remain on BBC News At Six but may need to reduce his workload in the coming weeks.

His agent told the Press Association: "George Alagiah will aim to be on air as much as possible, but may need to reduce his workload in the next few weeks as he begins a new regime of treatment to deal with a recent recurrence of his cancer.

"He is always grateful to the public for the tremendous support he has received."

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Father-of-two Alagiah was treated for bowel cancer in 2014 and was initially given the all clear in 2015 after 17 rounds of chemotherapy.

British newsreader, journalist and television news presenter, George Alagiah (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images)
British newsreader, journalist and television news presenter, George Alagiah (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2018 he revealed that he was ill once again, saying at the time that he felt “positive” as he prepared to battle the disease for the second time.

The broadcaster discussed his illness on the In Conversation With George Alagiah: A Bowel Cancer UK podcast earlier this year. saying that although he wished he had not had cancer, it “made life richer”.

“It's clearer to me what's important and it's clearer to me how to love people,” he said.

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The NHS website says that bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the UK, and that most people diagnosed with it are over the age of 60.