Lorraine Kelly has opened up about the emotional turmoil her family endured after her father, John Kelly, received a false cancer diagnosis during the Covid pandemic. The 66-year-old TV presenter described the ordeal as 'hellish' and the 'worst possible time' to receive such news.
Appearing on Pete Wicks' Man Made podcast, Lorraine disclosed that doctors initially told her father he had lung cancer, but later discovered it was a massive infection. 'They got it wrong,' she said. 'It was a massive infection in his lungs that he caught in hospital, sadly, and they diagnosed him as having lung cancer.'
Lorraine recalled the moment physicians informed John that he was cancer-free. 'I was holding onto my dad in one hand, my mum in the other, waiting for the guy to tell us just how bad it was. He said, "Mr Kelly, there's no cancer." And I immediately burst into tears and gave this guy the biggest hug.'
Despite the relief, Lorraine noted that the false diagnosis changed her father. 'Weirdly, that diagnosis changed him. I don't know if in his head he had prepared for the worst, but you'd have thought someone being told that news would have gone out and embraced life.'
She also revealed that John struggled with depression later in life but never sought help, fearing it would be seen as a 'sign of weakness'. Lorraine criticised the attitude of 'pull yourself together' or 'man up', which she believes prevented her father from getting support.
John Kelly passed away suddenly in January at the age of 84 after slipping on an icy footpath in East Kilbride, Scotland. Lorraine paid tribute, saying: 'Very sad news. My dad has died. I am mourning the man who bought me a telescope when I was five years old, who watched the moon landings with me and taught me to always be curious and interested in everything.'
