Radio legend and ex-Celebrity Big Brother star James Whale has died aged 74.
The TalkTV presenter, who appeared on CBB in 2016, recently said he was “happy to go” and felt “at peace” after being moved to a hospice with terminal cancer.
His wife Nadine revealed he passed away with a “smile on his face” on Monday morning.
“James slipped away very gently this morning. It was a beautiful passing and he left with a smile on his face,” she told the Express.
Whale’s death was initially announced on TalkTV, with colleague Mike Graham paying tribute to a radio career that spanned six decades.
He said: “James began his remarkable career in the early 1970s when he pioneered a new kind of radio in Britain, the late night shock jock phone in.”
Graham went on: “By the late 1980s, the James Whale radio show had become a cultural phenomenon, broadcasting every weekend on ITV. He attracted millions of viewers, making him a household name.
“James would go on to host a variety of programmes for ITV, Sky and the BBC before finding a new audience for talk radio, all the while continuing to make headlines during his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.
“In 2006, after surviving kidney cancer, James launched Kidney Cancer UK, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds. In 2024, James was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours, recognising his extraordinary contribution to broadcast and charity.
“James Whale broke the rules, he shaped the airwaves, and did it all on his own terms.”
He concluded: “For millions, James wasn’t just a broadcaster. He was a companion, a provocateur, and a good friend that we’ll all never forget.
“God bless you, James. We’ll miss you.”
TV host Jeremy Kyle also paid tribute on the show, saying: "He was an absolute fearless legend, a man who believed that it was about people.
“Believed it was about opinion. Never shied away from being brave enough to say what he felt."
Whale said he was “happy to go” in a heartbreaking column published just hours before his death was announced.
He penned for the Express: “Despite everything, I'm happy to go now and a lot of that is due to the people who work here, because they make dying as peaceful and pain-free as possible."
Whale was first diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and had to have one of his kidneys removed.
In 2020, the radio host revealed the cancer had returned in his kidney, spine, brain and lungs.
The TV star recorded his final podcast episode of Tales of the Whales from a hospice with wife Nadine, posted on 25 July.
In the episode titled “From Almost to Always”, he explained he was losing his voice and signed off with saying “Au revoir, not goodbye” to his listeners.
He revealed he has been spending time reminiscing with Nadine on the good times they have had, including holidays in Antigua and Cornwall.
“A lot of people get very upset when someone is going to die,” he added. “I’m the person who’s going to die and I’m quite relaxed about it.”
Jeremy Kyle on the late James Whale:
— Talk (@TalkTV) August 4, 2025
"He was an absolute fearless legend, a man who believed that it was about people. Believed it was about opinion. Never shied away from being brave enough to say what he felt."@jkyleofficial | @THEJamesWhale pic.twitter.com/lIiLpKbanw
Earlier this year, the broadcaster announced he was stopping treatment and recently marked what he called his “last birthday”, surrounded by close friends and family.
Whale gained prominence in the 1980s as the host of The James Whale Radio Show on Radio Aire in Leeds.
He hosted a night-time radio show on talkSPORT from 1995 to 2008, followed by stints on LBC 97.3 on the drivetime show and various BBC stations.
The presenter has been a fixture of British broadcasting for over 50 years, receiving the inaugural TRIC Recognition Award in 2023 for his contributions to the industry and an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and charity.
He founded the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer in 2006 - now Kidney Cancer UK - the country’s leading charity focused on the disease.
