Iconic BBC host who was given ‘death sentence’ and 5% survival chance slams old employer | Rugby | Sport

Former BBC Rugby Special presenter Chris Rea has opened up about his devastating dismissal from the beloved programme and admitted the decision was made shortly after he had endured cancer treatment. The 82-year-old hosted the show from 1988 until 1994.

As a player, the former centre turned out for Headingley at club level while also representing Scotland and the British and Irish Lions on the international stage, earning 13 caps for his nation and featuring 10 times for the touring party on their 1971 expedition to New Zealand. Rea was also employed by the BBC as an administrator in Leeds and embarked upon a career in the media, working within the BBC Radio sports department while also being appointed rugby and golf correspondent for The Scotsman. He was approached to front Rugby Special for the BBC, but his eventual departure came a year after undergoing cancer treatment.

Rea’s time as presenter came to an end in 1994 when the production of Rugby Special was handed over to an independent company and he was informed that his services were no longer needed. A year prior, unknown to viewers, Rea had received a diagnosis of bowel, liver and lymph node cancer and was given just a five per cent chance of surviving beyond five years if surgery was unsuccessful.

“Thirty-three years ago, that was a death sentence,” Rea told The Telegraph. Following a year of punishing treatment, he entered remission only to lose his job, which left him heartbroken.

“I said I would do it if I could keep going with the programme,” he said of his treatment. “They said I wouldn’t lose what hair I had left but would put on weight. We came to an agreement that if there was any change to my physical state, then I would be the first to say, ‘This is not on.’ You can’t have someone looking like death warmed up presenting a sports programme.

“I felt dreadful every Monday and for a couple days after but by the end of the week I was okay. I put weight on because of the effect of the steroids, but nobody would have known, and that was a source of great pride.”

Rea admitted he was devastated after losing his job at the BBC. The former presenter also argued the corporation’s rugby coverage declined following his exit.

“I was devastated. [BBC rugby producer] Johnnie [Watherston] lost his job too,” Rea said. “I hadn’t sought any additional support from the BBC during my illness. It was a real blow for me.

“I was sorry that Rugby Special did go downhill a bit and they took it a different way. That’s fine, you always get to the end of a success story and things need changing, but I think it was the BBC that lost interest in rugby more than anything else. It was also a result and a consequence of professionalism.”

Yet Rea would recover strongly, going on to join ITV’s commentary team for the Rugby World Cup in South Africa the following year after leaving the BBC, while also taking up the position of rugby correspondent for The Independent on Sunday before eventually becoming head of communications for the International Rugby Board.

Reflecting on when he joined Rugby Special, he said: “I would say they were the six of the happiest years of my working life,” he added. “We were opposite the Antiques Roadshow and followed Ski Sunday. It was a wonderful time. It was great fun.”