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Your support makes all the difference.Broadcaster and writer Danny Baker revealed today that he has cancer and is to undergo chemotherapy.
The Radio 5 Live host - who has presented shows for Radio 1 and Radio 2 - told fans and listeners in a statement online today, explaining why he has been absent from his regular Saturday show.
Baker, who is also well-known as a scriptwriter for his friend Chris Evans, remained upbeat and said he had been "watching Tommy Steele box sets".
"Once the quacks have soundly thrashed this thing I shall return like a rare gas and as if out of a trap," he said.
Baker, 53, apologised to his listeners for keeping his illness under wraps over the past few weeks.
He said: "As it appears this is going to continue for the foreseeable, I really ought to offer up some sort of breadcrumbs trail as to what's going on - as you know I am queasy about introducing vulgar real life on to the vaudeville stage so let's keep this crisp.
"After a pretty mouldy diagnosis about a month back, I finally begin chemotherapy on Monday with further radiotherapy from January. Yes, radiotherapy; can you beat it?"
He continued: "This being so, the old treehouse baggy pants will be donned but sparingly. Once the quacks have soundly thrashed this thing I shall return like a rare gas and as if out of a trap."
He urged his listeners to "keep yakking up a storm and laugh extra loud" at the guest presenters for his shows.
He thanked listeners for their concerns and added: "So. Manly handshake. Walk right on. In the words of King George 'What what and there it is...'."
His friend Chris Evans said today: "He's so positive it's inspiring. As he would say 'well there it is', now let's knock it out of the park."
Radio 5 Live controller Adrian Van-Klaveren said today that Baker would try to present his show on occasion over the next few months.
"Some Saturdays over the next few months he will be raring to go and will be on his 5 Live show as normal, and other weeks we'll be giving Danny a rest.
"I am sure you will all join me in wishing him all the best for the months ahead," he said.
A BBC London spokesman said: "Now Danny has made his condition public, we have been inundated with messages of support.
"He is much loved and missed by everyone at BBC London 94.9, so we wish him a speedy recovery."
His agent, Alex Armitage, said that everything Baker wanted to say about his illness had been included in his statement on networking site Facebook.
But he added that the presenter was "in good spirits".
Baker came to prominence as a writer for the music paper New Musical Express in the 1970s after cutting his teeth on the celebrated punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue.
He later became a roving reporter for London ITV magazine programme The Six O'clock Show and presented shows such as Win, Lose Or Draw and Pets Win Prizes.
Baker is also well-known for a long-running series of washing powder ads for Daz and for his popular shows on BBC station GLR.
He was recruited to replace Dave Lee Travis on Radio 1 in 1993 and has fronted a number of shows for 5 Live - including 6-0-6, Sportscall and Morning Edition. He was sacked from 5 Live after an on-air outburst about a referee in 1997 but has since returned.
Baker, who has three children, has also been a presenter for Talk Radio - the predecessor to TalkSport - and Virgin Radio. He also hosts a show for BBC London 94.9.
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