Sally Nugent was emotional on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC screengrab)
BBC Breakfast host Sally Nugent was emotional as Sir Chris Hoy appeared on the programme to talk about his cancer diagnosis.
The Olympic champion was diagnosed with prostate cancer and announced in October 2024 that it was incurable. He and his wife, Sarra, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), have filmed a documentary called Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me, which gives fans a glimpse into his journey and aims to inspire others.
As the pair appeared on the BBC show on Monday (December 15), host Sally said it was “one of the most inspirational stories I have ever worked on”.
She said: “Now he is, of course, best known as a six-time Olympic cycling champion, but since announcing his prostate cancer diagnosis, Sir Chris Hoy has had a different focus.”
Her co-host Jon Kay chimed in: “He’s made it his mission to raise awareness of the disease, to inspire others, and to encourage people with terminal illness to live life to the fullest.”
Chris Hoy was on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC screengrab)
BBC Breakfast teamed up with Chris on the programme, and Sally admitted there were “tough moments in there”.
She said: “I have to be honest with you. I remember sitting in that appointment with your consultant in London when you were going through the latest situation with your health, and going through, you know, what might be next and all of those things. And sitting there thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m in here. I can’t believe I’m in this room’.”
“We think the same, we can’t quite believe it,” said Sarra.
Chris went on: “It’s funny, on one hand, you adapt very quickly, and you’re in the kind of fight or flight mode when you first get the news. But there comes a moment where the dust settles briefly, and you can’t believe that you’re in this situation, that you’re, you know, I was very quickly into chemotherapy and into treatment. And you just think, how has it come to this all of a sudden? And then with Sarra’s MS diagnosis, which came very shortly after my cancer diagnosis, it was a double whammy.
“And you do have to allow yourself time to grieve and to process and to accept what’s happening to you. But equally, you know, you have to recognise that you’ve got to keep pushing on and also make the most of every day because you just, you just, none of us know how long we’re here for. And that’s not, that’s nothing morbid. That’s just a fact.
“But it’s not forgetting to enjoy the moment and to make the most of every day.”
Clips from the documentary showed Sarra becoming emotional (Image: BBC screengrab)
Clips from the documentary were played, showing Chris and Sarra going about their daily lives.
At one point, the star’s wife became tearful as she shared, “I always tell him, I think I’m the luckiest person to have met him. And I still maintain it. It is my life’s privilege to walk alongside him as he goes through this. And I would not ask for it to be any other way. And it’s felt easier than it should be, and it’s because we’re doing it together.”
Chris said of the programme: “I think, hopefully, it’s going to act as inspiration or just help other families going through a similar situation. And, you know, when I was given my diagnosis, my vision or my thoughts of what life was going to be like was nothing like it’s been for the last two years. It’s not been easy, of course. But life goes on, and you have to make the most of every opportunity.
“And, yeah, I feel like I’m in a very fortunate position where I have this platform, we have this platform, where we can talk to the world and we can hopefully effect change and we can help other people too. So it wasn’t easy, and there are other factors you have to consider with family and everything else.”
BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One.
