BBC newsreader George Alagiah has died aged 67 after a nine year battle with bowel cancer, his agent said today.
The widely respected broadcaster, who had been the face of News At Six since 2007, passed away ‘peacefully’ surrounded by his family.
BBC director general Tim Davie led tributes to Alagiah today, hailing him as ‘one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation’.
He was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to his liver and lymph nodes, in April 2014.
Alagiah is survived by his wife, Frances Robathan, and two children, Adam and Matt.
Alagiah had been the face of BBC One’s News At Six since 2007
Alagiah accompanied by his wife Frances and sons Adam and Matt, 17, at Buckingham Palace after collecting his OBE from the Queen in 2008
The widely respected journalist endured two rounds of chemotherapy and several operations, including the removal of most of his liver
The Sri Lanka-born journalist, the face of BBC One’s News At Six since 2007, endured two rounds of chemotherapy and several operations, including the removal of most of his liver.
In October 2015 he announced that his treatment was over and returned to BBC News At Six on November 10.
Alagiah had campaigned to raise awareness of bowel cancer, and in May shared a tweet urging people to access free screening kits.
‘I wish I had access to one of these kits when I was first diagnosed nine years ago,’ he wrote.
What are the common signs of bowel cancer?
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and leads to around 16,800 deaths every year. More than nine out of 10 cases of bowel cancer develop in older adults over the age of 50, and nearly six in 10 are in people aged 70 or older.
George Alagiah was first diagnosed with stage four (advanced) bowel cancer in 2014. By the age of 66, it had spread to his lungs, liver, spine and lymph nodes.
The three main symptoms of bowel cancer are having persistent blood in the stools, an ongoing change in bowel habit (such as needing to go more often or suffering the runs) and persistent lower abdominal pain, bloating or discomfort.
A loss of appetite may also occur, or somebody may suffer significant, unintentional weight loss. Several things are known to increase the risk of bowel cancer, though they cannot explain every case.
These include a diet high in red or processed meats and low in fibre, being overweight or obese, not taking enough exercise and drinking too much alcohol. Being a smoker and having a family history of the disease can also push up the risk.
Some people also have an increased risk of bowel cancer because they have another long-term condition, such as extensive ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
Bowel cancer screening is currently widely offered to people aged 60 to 74 who are sent a home stool kit every two years. Those aged 75 and over can ask for a kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.
Bowel cancer can be very difficult to treat in its later stages. But in the early stages, tumours can often be removed through surgery. The main treatments for bowel cancer include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted drugs, which depend on the genetic make-up of the tumour.
One in 15 men and one in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. Expert predictions are that 53,646 cases of bowel cancer (29,356 in men and 24,290 in women) will be diagnosed in the UK in 2035.
A statement from his agent, Mary Greenham, said: ‘I am so terribly sorry to inform you that George Alagiah died peacefully today, surrounded by his family and loved ones.
‘George fought until the bitter end but sadly that battle ended earlier today.
‘George was deeply loved by everybody who knew him, whether it was a friend, a colleague or a member of the public. He simply was a wonderful human being.
‘My thoughts are with Fran, the boys and his wider family.’
BBC Director-General Tim Davie said: ‘Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time.
‘George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly.
‘He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.’
Alagiah was a popular and reassuring presence behind a BBC News desk for more than 20 years, his unflappable demeanour making him a hit with viewers.
He joined the corporation in 1989 and was one of the broadcaster’s leading foreign correspondents, filing dispatches on subjects ranging from the Rwandan genocide to civil wars across Africa.
Alagiah was born in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo in 1955 when the city was still considered part of the former British territory of Ceylon.
During the BBC’s coverage of the 2004 Asian tsunami, he returned to the country to find that his grandfather’s former home had been destroyed in the natural disaster.
Alagiah was forced to take a break from television following his bowel cancer diagnosis in 2014 and shared updates as he battled the disease, including in June 2020 when he revealed it had spread to his lungs.
Alagiah spent part his of childhood in Ghana in west Africa where he moved with his engineer father Donald and mother Therese.
He moved to the UK to attend secondary school in Portsmouth after which he read politics at Durham University.
During his studies at Durham he was the editor of the student paper and a sabbatical officer of the students’ union.
It was there that he met his wife Frances Robathan. The couple married in 1984 and share two sons Adam and Matthew.
Before starting with the BBC in 1989, Alagiah was based in Johannesburg as developing world correspondent for South Magazine.
He was named Amnesty International’s journalist of the year in 1994 for reporting on the civil war in Burundi and also won the Broadcasting Press Guild’s award for television journalist of the year.
He was also part of the BBC team that won a Bafta Award in 2000 for its reporting of the conflict in Kosovo, one of several prizes he received during his broadcasting career.
After first presenting BBC Four News in 2002 he went on to co-anchor the corporations 6pm news bulletin, first alongside Sophie Raworth and then Natasha Kaplinsky.
From 2007 he was the programmes sole presenter while he was also a relief presenter for News at Ten.
Alagiah had campaigned to raise awareness of bowel cancer, and in May shared a tweet urging people to access free screening kits
He interviewed several world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
In 2008, he was made an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to journalism.
The following year he was asked by the BBC’s management to step down from his role as a patron of the Fairtrade Foundation.
The corporation explained that based on its principles of impartiality his role with the group represented a professional conflict of interest.
It was first announced in April 2014 that he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. It was later revealed the disease had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.
After undergoing treatment he revealed on social media in October 2015 that he would return to work, subsequently appearing on-screen in November.
An ever-popular presenter, his return was welcomed by viewers and his fellow journalists, including presenters of competing news programmes.
In 2016, Alagiah said he was a ‘richer person’ for his cancer diagnosis, which saw him undergo several rounds of chemotherapy and three major operations, one of which included the removal of most of his liver.
Alagiah’s health was back in the headlines in March 2020, when amid a global pandemic he tested positive for Covid-19.
He credited his experience of fighting cancer with helping him deal with the ‘mild’ case of coronavirus.
In June 2020, Alagiah revealed the cancer had spread to his lungs but delivered a typically philosophical judgment.
He told the Times newspaper: ‘My doctors have never used the word ‘chronic’ or ‘cure’ about my cancer.
‘They’ve never used the word ‘terminal’ either. I’ve always said to my oncologist, ‘Tell me when I need to sort my affairs out’, and he’s not told me that, but what he did tell me is that the cancer is now in a third organ. It is in my lungs.’
Alagiah said he had kept the development a secret, only telling his editor.
He said: ‘I said to my doctor, ‘You’re going to have to do the worrying for me.’ I don’t want to fill my mind with worry. I just know that he’s a clever guy, doing everything he can.’
In October 2021, a representative for Alagiah announced that he would be taking a step back from his presenting and journalism duties as he deals with ‘a further spread of cancer’.
During an interview in January 2022, Alagiah spoke candidly about his long battle with cancer, saying ‘it will get me in the end,’ before adding ‘I’m hoping it’s a long time from now, but I’m very lucky’.
Despite his matter of fact approach to the disease, Alagiah remained positive when reflecting on his career and family life.
‘I had to stop and say, ‘Hang on a minute. If the full stop came now, would my life have been a failure?’,’ he said.
He added: ‘And actually, when I look back and I looked at my journey… the family I had, the opportunities my family had, the great good fortune to bump into (Frances Robathan), who’s now been my wife and lover for all these years, the kids that we brought up… it didn’t feel like a failure.’
Alagiah temporarily returned to BBC News At Six in April 2022.
However, in October he once again announced that he had been forced to take time away from his work after scans showed that the cancer had spread further.
While sharing the news, Alagiah said: ‘A recent scan showed that my cancer has spread further so it’s back to some tough stuff.
‘I’m missing my colleagues. Working in the newsroom has been such an important part of keeping energised and motivated.
‘I look forward to being back in that studio as soon as I can.’
Alagiah spoke openly about the experience of living with cancer, joining a videocast for the charity Bowel Cancer UK in 2020 in which he said he sometimes felt he had the ‘easy part’, living with bowel cancer while his loved ones had to watch.
He said: ‘Those of us living with cancer know that it affects our families almost as much as ourselves.
‘In some ways I’ve felt through my six-plus years living with cancer that sometimes I have the easy part… My job is just to stay fit and my family has got to watch all of the other things.’
Appearing in a campaign in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support in 2022, speaking about the impact of his own experience of living with stage four bowel cancer, Alagiah said: ‘People always ask me how I cope and it’s the hardest question…
‘The challenge at first was getting my cancer diagnosis straight in my head – despite having so much going for me, a successful career and a loving family, here I was just being told I was dying.’
Away from journalism, Alagiah was a published author and his debut novel was shortlisted for a Society Of Authors award.
His thriller The Burning Land, about corruption and homicide in South Africa, was in the running for the Paul Torday memorial prize, which is awarded to a first novel by a writer over 60.
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