Noddy Holder saved by UK-first new chemotherapy

Musician Noddy Holder has told how he is enjoying performing again at 78 after his life was saved by a new pioneering type of cancer treatment.

The Slade frontman was given six months to live after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2018, but recovered following care at The Christie hospital in Manchester.

The NHS confirmed Mr Holder, 78, was among the first patients in the UK to receive "a new regime of chemotherapy" for his specific type of adenocarcinoma cancer, meaning it had formed in the glandular tissue of his oesophagus.

Holder, from Walsall and now living in Cheshire, told BBC Breakfast: "Luckily for me, I'm still here five years later."

An NHS statement added: "There are different types of oesophageal cancer and Noddy had a type of adenocarcinoma cancer that we thought might respond well to this chemotherapy."

Holder said he had begun performing again with a 10-piece boogie jazz band since his recovery.

"I don't sing for the whole two-hour show but I tell a lot of stories," he said.

"There's a lot of music in the show and then I end with a few songs."

Meanwhile, wife Susan Holder reassured fans her husband had recovered enough to continue his Christmas Day tradition of waking her up by yelling "It's Christmas" with the same gusto as Slade's 1973 hit song.

She said: "If you think it's loud on the record or when you hear it in the supermarket, imagine it on the pillow when you're asleep."

The pair have launched a charity raffle for East Cheshire Hospice, which they said they had "got to know" through Mr Holder's time being treated at The Christie.

The winner will be handed a papier-mâché sculpture of Holder, made by local artist Patty Callaghan.

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