ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly’s father John was diagnosed with lung cancer during the Covid pandemic, something she describes as ‘hellish’ and at the ‘worst possible time’
Lorraine Kelly “burst into tears” after her father was given a “false diagnosis”. Lorraine’s dad John Kelly went into hospital during the Covid pandemic and was diagnosed with lung cancer.
The 66-year-old TV presenter says the experience was “hellish” and described it as the “worst possible time” to get the news. Speaking on Pete Wicks’ Man Made podcast, Lorraine went on to reveal that medics “got it wrong”.
She said: “Bizarrely, it was before Covid and he was diagnosed with cancer, and it was a false diagnosis, they got it wrong.
“It was a massive infection in his lungs that he caught in hospital, sadly, but it was a massive infection and they diagnosed him as having lung cancer, and it was hellish, it was the worst possible time. You can imagine how bad that news was.”
She went on to discuss the moment doctors told John that he was in fact cancer free. She continued: “You know you see in the adverts sometimes, you’re sitting there and the doctor is waiting for the news, that’s what we were like. 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.
“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.”
Lorraine explained she believes John began to suffer from depression later in life. She says John never sought treatment for the condition because he feared it would “be a sign of weakness” and a “step too far”.
Lorraine believes John was part of a generation that would tell each other to “pull yourself together”. She continued: “The worst thing you can say to anybody is ‘pull yourself together’ or ‘man up’ and I think that’s why my dad never sought any help for his depression.
“My brother and I, very tentatively, a few years ago tried to bring [it] up a little bit because I thought, ‘He’s just not the same, he’s not got the same zest for life’ you know.
“He’s not enjoying life the way he should be and it was very difficult. We tried, tried really hard, and there’s only so much you can do. But I really noticed that he went downhill.”
John died suddenly aged 84 in January after reportedly slipping on an icy footpath in East Kilbride, Scotland. Paying tribute to her father, Lorraine said: “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. He was in poor health but it has still been a shock. We will miss you dad.”
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