Heartbreaking moment BBC legend Nick Owen breaks down in tears on air amid cancer battle
BBC telly legend Nick Owen broke down in tears and sobbed on air during an emotional moment amid his cancer battle.
The 76-year-old star, famous for this career in news as well as Good Morning with Anne and Nick in the mid-90s, has been a fixture on screens for 50 years.
Nick, who was awarded the MBE in the King's Birthday Honours list this year, announced last year that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had undergone surgery.
Appearing on the BBC's Midlands Today, which he's fronted since 1997, the star broke down after receiving messages from viewers - when one popped up from his son Tim.
It read simply: "Very proud of you Dad." At that Nick became overwhelmed with emotion and had to pause, touching his face and saying: "My Tim. Oh, bless you."
News presenter Ben Godfrey had been reading messages from well-wishers which appeared on a screen, with one coming in from "Timothy Owen".
Tim is one of the star's four children - he also has sons Andy and Chris and daughter Jenny with ex-wife Jill Lavery.
Composing himself, Nick, who is also known for his work on ITV Sport and was chairman of Luton Town football club from 2008 until 2017, said: "I do want to thank everyone who's been in touch and so supportive.
"I'm so grateful that people have responded to the message in the first place about prostate cancer because that's such an important thing. People are talking about it far more now. Not just because of me, but various people have been in the same situation."
Last year, Nick underwent treatment for his prostate cancer and talking publicly about his treatment resulted in a surge in the numbers of people being tested for the disease.
One viewer told him: "I got tested myself after his illness and was diagnosed late last year with prostate cancer. So far, it looks like early detection has paid off."
