John Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner reveals breast cancer diagnosis

Actress and cook Lisa Faulkner has been diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer. The 54-year-old, who is married to celebrity chef and TV presenter John Torode, said she underwent surgery two weeks ago and has since had the all-clear from her doctors.

The EastEnders actress, 54, said she still needs to undergo radiotherapy and urged her social media followers to get check-ups. 

Taking to Instagram, Lisa said: “‘I’ve had to have surgery because I’ve had the very early stages of breast cancer.

“I had surgery two weeks ago, and it was quite a big op, but it’s all good, and I’ve had my results back, and they’ve got everything out, and so it’s all clear, and I just need now to have some radiotherapy in a few weeks.

“I’ve still got quite a bit of healing to do, but I’m good, I’m well, and feeling so much better.”

© Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Lisa encouraged her followers to book mammogram appointments, adding that if she didn’t attend her breast screening, the cancer would not have been detected. 

“I am so grateful that I went for my mammogram,” she said.

“Don’t put them off, go, because they found this and without that mammogram it wouldn’t have been picked up.”

© Karwai Tang, Getty

Lisa ended the video by sharing her appreciation for the “wonderful NHS”. “Thank you to our wonderful NHS and the fact we can have these mammograms and we can get treatment early,” she said. 

The news comes almost a year after John was axed from the BBC cooking competition show MasterChef. His departure came after an allegation that he used “highly offensive racist language” was upheld in a review looking into his former co-presenter Greg Wallace, who was also sacked due to alleged misconduct.

Lisa’s home life

Lisa married Masterchef presenter John Torode in 2019 at Aynhoe Park, Oxfordshire.

The pair have a blended family of five, consisting of John’s four children from previous relationships and an adopted daughter, Billie, whom Lisa adopted in 2008.

© Jeff Spicer

In an exclusive interview with HELLO! last year, Lisa revealed how her relationship with Billie has evolved since her daughter became an adult.

“She’s so busy either working or travelling, which is what she wants to do at the moment,” Lisa says of the 20-year-old, whom she shares with her ex, Chris Coghill.

“She saves up more, and goes, and saves up for the next trip, then she comes back home, and I’m like, ‘Yay, you’re home! We can watch Gilmore Girls, we can have tea, we can have chocolate’. She is my daughter and my friend: the relationship changes, of course it does, and I feel so lucky to have her in my life, though I know she’ll fly the nest eventually.”