interview
ADELE ROBERTS: ‘Myribskept poppingouton
The presenter talks to Isobel Lewis about recovering from cancer and why she needs to chill
Adele Roberts has had a dramatic few years. In October 2021, the radio presenter and DJ was diagnosed with bowel cancer, turning her life upside down. She approached the challenges of chemotherapy and being given astoma –abag attached to the front of the body where waste goes –with drive and determination, and was declared cancer-free in the summer of 2022.
Never one to rest, exercise fan Adele has continued to push the boundaries of possibility. Akeen runner, who lists Prince William and Kate Middleton among her supporters, she set anew Guinness World Record as the fastest woman to run amarathon with astoma bag in London last year –all done with the support of girlfriend Kate Holderness.
Already, 2024 has seen Adele, 45, reach the final of Dancing On Ice, and now, she’s telling her story in her inspiring memoir. She sat down with heat to talk skating, dating, and all things poo…
Congrats on the book. When did you know you wanted to do it?
When Ifirst got diagnosed, or maybe alittle bit after. Iwanted to be able to give my account of having cancer and hopefully help other people as I’d been helped myself. When the unthinkable happens, you need as many real people as possible to share their story, so it makes you feel abit better about it.
Was it an easy process?
Ican barely read, let alone write! Iwas like, “How will Ido it?” Ijust didn’t think Iwas abook person. But Ithink what really cr ystallised things for me was running the marathon. Once I’d done that, Iknew how to tell the story. Iknew that Icould tell it from the heart and Iknew it would almost write itself because it had astart, amiddle and an end.
You’re very open in the book about mistakes you made in your cancer journey…
Iwanted to help people be alert, especially people that are young, and people that are fit. That was one of the reasons Imissed alot of my symptoms at the start – Ithought it was just aside effect of running.
What symptoms were you experiencing?
Iwas losing weight, and Ihad abit of abloated tummy, but Ithought that was because Iwasn’t cooking my food very well because I’m abad cook. It wasn’t until Istarted to get abit of blood in my poo when Iwent to the toilet that Iwas like, “This doesn’t feel right.” But my big mistake was not calling the doctor straightaway. Ididn’t want to be a burden, and that could have been very dangerous.
Have people ever been uncomfortable with your toilet chat?
Ihave astoma, so mine is abit of aunique case. It was almost overwhelming for people, but so much happened so quickly, that Ithink we all just got on with it. But thinking about it, Iwas on breakfast
