TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan dies aged 68

TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan has died, a year after revealing he was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.

The former BBC, ITV and Sky News correspondent was 68.

“It is with great sadness that the family of Dermot Murnaghan announce his passing at his home in North London in the early hours of this morning,” his family said in a statement published on the X account. he said. “He died peacefully with his family by his side.”

A fixture of British TV news for five decades, he presented flagship programs such as the ITV Evening News and BBC News on Six and Ten.

Murnaghan was the main presenter of BBC Breakfast from September 2002 to December 2007, and also hosted the quiz show Eggheads.

When he announced his diagnosis last summer, he said he was “responding positively” to treatment and “feeling good.”

He became an outspoken advocate for men to be tested for the condition.

“My message to all men over 50, at high risk or showing symptoms goes without saying, get yourself tested and campaign for routine prostate screening on the NHS,” he said.

“Early diagnosis is very important. Remember, this disease can sometimes progress rapidly without obvious symptoms.”

His family thanked the public “for the many messages of goodwill he has received since he was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer last year, and for his subsequent campaign to raise awareness of screening programs for the disease.”

Common prostate cancer symptoms include needing to urinate more often, especially at night; difficulty urinating, weak and prolonged urine flow; and blood in the urine or semen.