Kirsty Gallacher has shared a health update after being diagnosed with a brain tumour four years ago.
The 49-year-old presenter is best known for her work on Sky Sports News, as well as fronting The Great British Breakfast on GB News in 2021.
However, she stepped down from the channel after announcing that she’d discovered a benign tumour in her inner ear canal that was causing tinnitus.
At the time Kirsty explained that she’d been diagnosed with acoustic neuroma – a type of non-cancerous brain tumour.
This week she appeared in court and was banned for driving for six months for speeding.
Speaking in court, she became emotional and spoke about the tumour – which has left her deaf in one ear.
‘I have a brain tumour – an acoustic neuroma – it is benign, but it’s growing very fast,’ she said, as reported by The Sun.
‘They have monitored it for the last three years. I am now doing radiotherapy.
‘We don’t know if the radiotherapy is going to work, if it will shrink (the tumour) or not. It’s a bit of a suck-it-and-see situation.’
She continued: ‘I have lots of appointments. I took a week off to undergo my first session last week.
‘I have to go for regular appointments with a view to more radiotherapy or possibly an operation.’
During her hearing, Kirsty appealed to the judge to allow her to keep her licence, saying losing it would limit her ability to care for her children and receive medical treatment.
After previously having nine points from three offences over the past two years, she was hit with another three points after being caught doing 35mph in a 30 zone in Maiden’s Green, Berkshire, just after 8am on April 1.
‘There’s no empathy. I’m just an ordinary mum with plates spinning, I do everything. With my health as well, it’s going to be very difficult,’ she said of the ruling when speaking to the Daily Mail.
Kirsty was previously married to rugby player Paul Sampson from 2010 until 2015, with the pair sharing two sons.
When appealing to the judge, Kirsty said she couldn’t afford to pay for a taxi as she was the sole financial provider for her two children.
‘I am not a precious person; I am very humble. I am not saying that I can’t use public transport. We have all now and again done that,’ she said.
However, it was reported that she earns £150,000 a year presenting Gold Radio and told the court she has around £80,000 in savings.
Along with a six-month driving ban, Kirsty was also fined a total of £1,044 for the offence.
District Judge Arvind Sharma told her: ‘I accept that things will be harder for you, but those are all manageable.
‘I don’t accept that your son needs a lift every morning, and you have adequate money saved up that you can use taxis for your children and yourself.’
Kirsty’s court hearing comes after she spoke about being attacked by a stranger on a street in central London in October.
Posting a video on social media, she explained that a man had approached her on a ‘well-lit’ street while she was walking to her car around 7pm on a Tuesday night.
Unprovoked, he began kicking her ‘like he was kicking a football’ before running off.
Kirsty said he was ‘all in black, covered up’, and, since she is ‘always vigilant’, she sensed almost immediately that something wasn’t right.
Despite one witness rushing to her aid, she claims a security guard in a nearby store was ‘useless’ and did nothing.
A few days on from the incident, she released a statement on social media thanking people for their support and adding that the Metropolitan Police were ‘dealing with the situation’.
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.