Mark Radcliffe launches £20m Christie cancer research campaign Published duration 28 November 2019

image copyright Paul Heyes image caption Mark Radcliffe had a tumour removed from his tongue

Broadcaster Mark Radcliffe has launched a campaign to raise £20m to help build a new cancer research centre at Manchester's Christie Hospital.

The Re-Write Cancer campaign aims to help meet the cost of a new £150m research facility.

It will replace the old Paterson building on Wilmslow Road, which was destroyed by fire in 2017

Radcliffe, 61, was diagnosed with cancer last year and had a tumour removed from his tongue.

The cancer also spread to lymph nodes in his neck but following successful treatment at the hospital he returned to the airwaves in February.

The BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music presenter unveiled a bench in the grounds of the University of Manchester bearing the inscription: "Mark Radcliffe loved sitting here....and still does thanks to advances in cancer research."

image copyright Steve Allen image caption The Paterson building on Wilmslow Road was destroyed by fire in 2017

Radcliffe, from Knutsford, Cheshire, said it was "an absolute honour" to be involved in the campaign.

He said: "Facing a cancer diagnosis was extremely tough - it completely turned my life upside down and made me re-evaluate what really matters to me.

"But thousands of people are in the same boat every year and I was fortunate to receive excellent care at The Christie.

"Research into cancer is the key to changing lives now and in the future. Without it I simply wouldn't be standing - or sitting - here today."

The new research centre, which is due to open in early 2022, will integrate researchers and clinicians in one "world-class facility", the hospital has said.

It will be twice the size of the Paterson, which was extensively damaged by fire in April 2017 - though much of the unit's research work was salvaged and no-one was injured.

The unit's research was temporarily relocated 13 miles away at Alderley Park in Cheshire.

The fundraising is a joint appeal by Cancer Research UK, the Christie Charitable Fund and the University of Manchester.