Johnny Ball’s decision to share prostate cancer diagnosis ‘will raise awareness’

TV presenter Johnny Ball revealing he has prostate cancer will raise “vital awareness with men” about the condition, a charity has said.

Ball, 87, father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball, has spoken of receiving treatment for the condition and said he is now “fine”.

He told the Mirror: “I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in August 2022 and, thankfully, after three months of daily radiation treatment, starting in the September, I’m through it, I’m fine.”

Ball was a regular face on children’s television from the late 1960s onwards, presenting Play School and Think Of A Number.

Chiara De Biase, Prostate Cancer UK’s director of health services, equity and improvement, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Johnny Ball for speaking so openly about his prostate cancer diagnosis, and glad to hear he’s had effective treatment.

“By sharing his story, he’s raising vital awareness with men across the UK, showing how the earlier you find prostate cancer, the easier it is to treat, and how an earlier diagnosis can save your life.

“Prostate cancer often doesn’t have symptoms at the early stages, and that’s why it’s so important for men to be aware of the disease, to know their own risk and to know what they can choose to do about it.”

She said men can use Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker, which takes 30 seconds.

Keen skier Ball was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 aged 74. He was the first celebrity to be voted out of the series.

He began his entertainment career as a Butlin’s Redcoat in Pwllheli, north Wales, in the early 1960s before doing stand-up comedy.

His ITV show Johnny Ball Reveals All ran from 1989 to 1994, while he also appeared in More4’s The Baby Boomers’ Guide To Growing Old, and 5’s The Terry And Gaby Show.

Ball’s ex-wife – and Zoe’s mother – Julia Peckham died last year after being diagnosed with cancer.