Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan shares devastating 'out of the blue' cancer diagnosis

Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage four cancer. The broadcaster admitted the devastating diagnosis came completely out of the blue while he was on holiday. Appearing on his former network, the 67-year-old urged men to "demand" a prostate cancer test and called on the government to implement active screenings.

In a candid conversation with presenter Anna Jones on Sky News, the dad-of-four revealed he's "feeling pretty good" after undergoing chemotherapy. But he confessed that he didn't exhibit typical prostate cancer symptoms in the lead up to his diagnosis.

Some of the typical symptoms that are signs of the deadly disease include frequent urination or the presence of blood. Instead, he suffered a sudden illness while enjoying a holiday overseas, which led to the prognosis.

Murnaghan highlighted the lack of a formal screening programme in place for prostate cancer, insisting that men "actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers".

Given the absence of a screening programme, he urged men of a certain age to proactively "go and demand it". Reflecting on his own experience, the presenter admitted to putting off the screen.

He admitted: "In my own case, I fell through those gaps. I foolishly sat in your [points to presenter Anna Jones] position for many, many years speaking to people about this very issue.

"I talked about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high-risk groups who may have a history if it in their family, to go and ask for this screening. And I kept thinking, 'once I got over that age, I will go and do that'.

"I kept thinking, 'Okay, well I'll get round to it', but life intervenes. Jobs, children, holidays... all kinds of things, and I never did. So what happened was at the end of last year, I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue."

After NHS treatment and testing, he was given the crushing diagnosis of stage-four cancer. Murnaghan highlighted that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are becoming increasingly accurate and advocated for their inclusion in routine cancer screenings.

He said: "They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save." Urging men to undergo testing, he went on: "Once you cross that milestone, go and demand it, your GP will eventually give you one. If there's a history of prostate cancer in your family, definitely get it."

The broadcaster revealed that he completed his chemotherapy this summer. He explained: "I finished my chemotherapy kind of early July, so I've been recovering since. We're just waiting to see how it's gone. But I'm feeling pretty good.

"It's hard, but the one thing is, you feel that you are actively doing something in the hands of wonderful medical professionals who know what they're doing, and you're kicking back, there's this kind of bit of a psychological gap now that it's stopped - 'What do I do now?' But I'm in the waiting-and-seeing phase, they can see how much it's achieved hopefully."

It comes as a coalition of over 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is sounding the alarm that the government must take immediate measures to address cancer care in England - including swifter diagnosis targets and improved prevention policies.

The UK lacks a national screening programme for prostate cancer as there isn't a reliable test to detect cancer requiring treatment at an early stage, according to Cancer Research UK.