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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Nadeem Badshah

BBC’s Trevor Nelson recovering after brain tumour surgery

Trevor Nelson at an Usher concert.
Trevor Nelson says he is feeling almost back to himself and is ‘raring to go’. Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage

Trevor Nelson, the BBC Radio 2 DJ, has revealed he had surgery after being diagnosed with a brain tumour and is now on the mend.

The broadcaster, 62, said in June that he was taking a break from work commitments to deal with health issues.

In a post on Thursday, Nelson said his “world was turned upside down” when he found out he had a brain tumour.

The radio host has spent the last month “recuperating, resting, and recovering” after surgery that went “incredibly well”, and said he hoped to return to work soon.

Nelson, who has spent a 30-year career at the BBC championing Black British music, said in a video message: “A lot of you may have seen the post that I put up at the start of summer, saying that I was stepping back from all my work commitments due to illness.

“There’s been a lot of speculation as to what’s wrong with me, I know that much.”

About 13,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.

Nelson said: “I’m not going to go into it all now, and I will probably deep-dive into it at a later date so you can hear the whole crazy story.

“But I’ll tell you this: I was minding my own business, and then it was discovered that I had a brain tumour. My world was turned upside down. It was a shock to myself, my close family, and friends. My head was all over the place.”

The broadcaster said he underwent surgery a few weeks after his diagnosis. “Thankfully it went incredibly well, and the last month I’ve been at home recuperating, resting, recovering, and getting some post-op treatment.”

He said he was feeling “almost back to myself”, adding: “I’ve had a really serious situation, but I’ve come out the other side at this point and I feel great. I feel raring to go, and I feel in good health.”

Nelson presented weekdays 2-4pm on Radio 2, and BBC Radio 1Xtra each Sunday from 11am to 1pm before his break. He previously worked for Kiss FM, Radio 1 and MTV.

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