TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan has died aged 68.
The veteran broadcaster and former Sky News presenter, announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in June last year, telling followers that he was “responding positively” to treatment.
In a statement published to his X account on Saturday, 11 July, his family said: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dermot Murnaghan announces that he passed away at home in North London earlier this morning at the age of 68 following a period of illness with prostate cancer. He died peacefully with his family at his side.“
Murnaghan’s family thanked the medical teams who cared for the broadcaster with “such sensitivity and extraordinary compassion throughout his illness”, as well a those who sent “kind messages of goodwill” to him since he announced his diagnosis last year.
“In accordance with his wishes, the funeral will be a small family ceremony,” they shared. “A memorial service for friends and colleagues will follow at St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street (the Journalists’ Church) later this year.
“The family request that anyone wishing to remember him considers supporting Prostate Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer Research and North London Hospice so that others may benefit from the research and care he received.”
Prostate cancer is entirely curable if caught early through a routine PSA test. However, Murnaghan’s cancer was too advanced for doctors to treat his prostate alone.
Following his diagnosis, Murnaghan subsequently began work as an ambassador for Prostate Cancer Research in a bid to increase public awareness of the need for screenings for high-risk groups.
Murnaghan told The Telegraph that his instant thought upon receiving his diagnosis was, “What a fool I am.”
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“I’ve been sitting on sofas talking to people about health stories throughout my career. I was very aware of prostate cancer and the importance of the PSA test.
“I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ll get round to it.’ And when I did have the test, in that moment at hospital, it was horrendous. Of course, the levels were off the scale.”
The broadcaster cited Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy’s own stage four prostate cancer diagnosis as an inspiration for going public with his own cancer, noting how it prompted thousands of men to seek checks.
Before joining Sky News, Murnaghan presented ITV’s News at Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News (now the BBC News at Ten) as well as Channel 4 News.
He also presented the true crime documentary series Killer Britain, hosted the podcast Legends of News and presented Eggheads for 11 years from 2003.