Homes Under The Hammer star Tommy Walsh has shared an update on his cancer treatment, revealing he is undergoing a cutting-edge radiotherapy procedure on the NHS. The 67-year-old former Ground Force presenter said the cancer returned earlier this year, found just outside his lung, but a new treatment called SABR (Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy) has shrunk the tumour.
Walsh explained: “My cancer came back earlier this year…they found it again under the lung. So I had to have this new treatment called SABR and what it is is radiotherapy which targets it to an exact spot without damaging the organs around it. So they used that and it shrunk. It is now not anywhere else. It is going away. Because it is shrinking it will shrink down to nothing and disappear. I will then just have to have annual checks. It has worked for me really well.”
The TV presenter praised the NHS for his care, saying: “I was treated on the NHS. That is where I go. They have sorted it out and it is a great. I would always go to the NHS. They have looked after me throughout this whole cancer shenanigans so why would I want to go somewhere else.”
Walsh rose to fame on the BBC’s Ground Force alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock. Despite their on-screen friendship, the trio had occasional behind-the-scenes rows, including a famous 2000 incident when Titchmarsh lost his temper over sawdust. Walsh recalled: “For a while, it did get a bit hairy. But when we'd both calmed down we actually kissed (yes) and made up. What made me cross was that I was working flat out to get everything ready and here was Alan moaning about a bit of stray sawdust.”
Charlie Dimmock later said the incident silenced her for a moment, but the three remain friends to this day.
