Lisa Faulkner has shared her breast cancer diagnosis after explaining why she had been quieter than usual on social media. The presenter and actor said the cancer was found after a routine mammogram, and that she has already undergone surgery.

The 54-year-old said she is now recovering from what she described as a “big operation” and will have radiotherapy in the coming weeks.

What Lisa Faulkner said about her diagnosis

Faulkner addressed followers on Instagram, saying she had been absent online because she had been treated for the early stages of breast cancer.

“I know I’ve been very quiet on here, reason being I have had to have surgery for the early stages of breast cancer,” she said.

She added that the operation took place two weeks ago and that her results had brought reassuring news.

“I had surgery two weeks ago, it was quite a big op but it’s all good and I’ve my results back and they’ve got everything out,” she said.

“So it’s all clear, and I just need now to have some radiotherapy in a few weeks.”

Faulkner said she still has “a bit of healing to do” but is feeling better, and stressed how grateful she is that she attended her mammogram.

Why she is urging women not to delay mammograms

Faulkner said she decided to speak publicly because the screening made the difference in her case. NHS breast screening is routinely offered to women aged 50 to 70, and Faulkner was direct about the point she wanted people to take from her experience.

“I just wanted to say don’t put them off, go, because they found this and without that mammogram it wouldn’t have been picked up,” she said.

She also thanked the National Health Service for making screening and early treatment available.

“Thank you to our wonderful NHS and the fact we can have these mammograms and we can get treatment early,” she said.

It is a simple message, and not exactly a glamorous one, which is probably why it matters. A routine appointment is easy to postpone. Faulkner’s update is a reminder of what those appointments are for.

From screen roles to weekend cooking TV

Faulkner is known to many viewers for acting roles in shows including Holby City, The Girl Before and EastEnders. She later built a second career as a TV chef and presenter.

Her shift into food television followed her 2010 win on Celebrity MasterChef. She went on to host the Channel 4 series What’s Cooking?

She also presents John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen with her husband, chef and presenter John Torode. The couple married in 2019.

Faulkner’s update was personal, but it also landed as a public health nudge from someone used to being in viewers’ kitchens on a weekend morning: get the screening, even when life is busy and the diary is already winning.