TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan dies aged 68 a year after he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer

By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:11, 11 July 2026 | Updated: 12:29, 11 July 2026 Dermot Murnaghan has died aged 68, a year after the he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.  The TV presenter died peacefully at his home in north London on Saturday morning, his family said in a statement.  Murnaghan was a familiar face to millions of Britons after stints at Channel 4, ITV, the BBC and Sky News during a TV career lasting more than 35 years. In 1997, he broke the news of the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris to viewers of ITV. Then, more than 25 years later, on September 8, 2022, he announced the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Sky News.   Murnaghan, who had four children with his wife Maria, was also known for having presented popular quiz show Eggheads for 11 years, between 2003 and 2014.  A family statement posted on X said: 'The family wish to thank the medical teams who cared for Dermot with such sensitivity and extraordinary compassion throughout his illness. 'Also, for the many, many kind messages of goodwill that he received over the last year since his diagnosis of stage 4 prostate cancer and his subsequent campaigning to raise awareness for screening programmes for the disease.  Former Sky News broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan has died at the age of 68. Above: On Sky News in August 2025 in what was his first TV outing after his diagnosis In 1997, he broke the news of the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris to viewers of ITV 'In accordance with his wishes, the funeral will be a small family ceremony. A memorial service for friends and colleagues will follow at St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street (the Journalists’ Church) later this year. 'The family request that anyone wishing to remember him considers supporting Prostate Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer Research and North London Hospice so that others may benefit from the research and care he received.' The presenter, who departed Sky after more than 15 years in 2023, revealed his cancer diagnosis on social media site X - formerly Twitter - in June, 2025. He wrote: 'I've been diagnosed with stage four advanced prostate cancer I'm fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team looking after me, who I can't thank enough - they are administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity', he wrote. The presenter also issued a plea to men - especially those over 50, people in high-risk groups or those with symptoms - to get tested.  His call aligned with the Mail's own campaign for a national prostate cancer screening programme that could save thousands of lives. His first TV outing after his diagnosis was, fittingly, on Sky News in August 2025.  During the candid conversation he repeated his call for better screening programmes to save other men from suffering the same fate as him.  Murnaghan was born two weeks past his due date in Barnstaple, Devon, on Boxing Day in 1957.  His huge birth weight - 10lb 3oz - made him the heaviest baby in the hospital, a fact that was reported in the local newspaper.  At the age of four, the youngster had an eye operation to fix a squint.  Murnaghan's father, who had served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, moved the family to his native Northern Ireland when his son was still young. It meant Murnaghan grew up in Armagh and then the town of Holywood near Belfast as The Troubles began and then steadily worsened.  Dermot Murnaghan and wife Maria at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London in 2012. The couple had four children Dermot with his wife and four children, Jack, Alice, Molly and Kitty during a family holiday Dermot Murnaghan with his wife and their three eldest children at a screening of Disney film Atlantis in 2001 Murnaghan was born two weeks past his due date in Barnstaple, Devon, on Boxing Day in 1957. At the age of four, the youngster had an eye operation to fix a squint He went on to pass the 11-plus and so went to grammar school, as violence became increasingly commonplace.  'We were only four or five miles from Belfast and you could hear the gun battles, the bombs going off at night, and the helicopters clattering overhead,' the journalist wrote in the Daily Mail in 2009.  A keen sportsman, Murnaghan broke into his school's rugby first team when he was 15 and twice broke his nose playing the sport.  He went on to study history at Sussex University, where he met his wife, Maria Keegan.  The couple would go on to marry in 1989 and have daughters Kitty, Molly and Alice and son Jack together. After completing his undergraduate course, Murnaghan did an MA and then started a PhD.  But, driven by a desire to be a journalist, he chose to give up on his doctorate.  Instead, Murnaghan obtained a journalism qualification from City University in London.  Dermot Murnaghan reporting outside Buckingham Palace on the day Queen Elizabeth II died, on September 8, 2022 Dermot Murnaghan signing off at the end of his last shift on Sky News in 2023 Dermot Murnaghan reading the news on ITV in the 1990s Dermot Murnaghan with ITV colleague Trevor McDonald launching new programme the Evening News in 1999 Dermot Murnaghan in a promotional photo for 1990s ITV game show A Seat On The Board Dermot Murnaghan alongside co-presenter Mary Nightingale on ITV show Britain's Most Wanted, 2000 Dermot Murnaghan as presenter of The Big Story, 1997 Dermot Murnaghan and Natasha Kaplinsky became a famous BBC Breakfast duo Dermot Murnaghan with BBC colleagues Jonathan Dimbleby (centre) and John Sergeant, the presenters of the corporation's 2001 General Election coverage Dermot Murnaghan in the hot seat on game show Eggheads, which he presented from 2003 until 2014 Dermot Murnaghan alongside Suzi Perry as presenter of Treasure Hunt He then began his career as a trainee reporter at local newspapers before joining Channel 4 as a researcher in the late 1980s.  He later became a reporter for the broadcaster's The Business Programme. After a brief stint in Switzerland to present the European Business Channel, Mr Murnaghan returned to Britain to host the business segments on The Channel 4 Daily, a new breakfast show by Channel 4. In the early 1990s, he made the move to ITV, the BBC's commercial rival. In 1994, during a filming trip to Switzerland for his show The Big Story, he dived into Lake Geneva to save a five-year-old boy from drowning.  Writing in the Daily Mail in 1998, he recalled: 'I heard the screams of the boy's nanny first.  'Then two or three feet under the water I saw this little face with bubbles coming out of it. 'I jumped in instinctively. I was togged up in my presenter's kit - didn't even have time to kick off my shoes.'  On August 31, 1997, a Saturday night, Murnaghan was at home when news emerged that Princess Diana had been in a serious car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.  He was called to work and had been on air for around three hours when the world's media were told she had died after attempts to save her life in hospital had failed. Murnaghan was also a keen cyclist. Above: Warming up for an event for Comic Relief in 2022 In 2017 the newsreader was 'wiped out' by a driver while he was cycling Speaking on ITV's Lorraine in 2022, Murnaghan explained: 'I hear in my ear, "just read the statement, just read that statement", which I had not read before. 'And so for me, I am also computing, as the audience are computing, comprehending, that we have gone from a serious incident involving the Princess and her entourage to her being dead. ' He told viewers: 'We have reports from Paris that Diana, Princess of Wales, has been killed in a car accident and that her partner, Dodi Fayed, has also been killed.'  After what was a successful stint at ITV, Murnaghan moved to the BBC, where he joined the presenting line-up of BBC Breakfast in 2002.  He and Natasha Kaplinsky formed what proved to be a popular presenting duo.  In 2007, Murnaghan made the leap back to commercial broadcasting with Sky News.  It was there that he remained until his final show almost 16 years later.  Away from news, Murnaghan also presented the true crime documentary series Killer Britain and the podcast Legends of News.   Outside of his work, Murnaghan was a keen cyclist and runner and had completed several marathons. In 2012, his marriage survived the emergence of photos showing him kissing his Sky make-up artist, who was 13 years his junior, in Hyde Park.    In 2017 the newsreader was 'wiped out' by a driver while he was cycling. The accident, which he described as a 'hit-and-run', left him with a number of cuts and bruises as well as a damaged bike.He shared the image of his injured face on social media with the caption: 'This is why I haven't been on the air for two days.'