'We were right not talking about Noddy's cancer'

Noddy Holder was given six months to live after his cancer diagnosis but has recovered thanks to experimental chemotherapy

The wife of Slade legend Noddy Holder believes the couple did the right thing by not telling people that he had cancer until five years after his diagnosis.

It comes in the aftermath of the Princess of Wales revealing her cancer diagnosis after much speculation about her health.

Mr Holder, from Walsall, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2018 and given six months to live, but recovered thanks to experimental chemotherapy on the NHS.

His wife, writer Suzan Holder, told the BBC that she would not have been able to cope with all of the questions while her husband still had cancer.

'A terrible thing'

Noddy and Suzan Holder did not tell many people about the Slade star's cancer after he was diagnosed

Mrs Holder said that she and her husband decided straight away that they would not widely share Mr Holder's diagnosis.

"We kept it incredibly quiet, even amongst our own friends and family, and we did that because it was such a shocking thing for us.

"We didn't see it coming, we didn't know what was going to happen," she said.

Burdened with the knowledge that her husband might have six months to live, Mrs Holder had to tell the Slade star's children the troubling news.

"They were the most difficult conversations I've ever had in my life," she said.

"How do you tell people that?"

The Slade star is now clear of cancer after undergoing chemotherapy, and the news of his diagnosis was announced by Mrs Holder in October 2023.

"It's such a terrible thing to share," Mrs Holder said, explaining that they felt the fewer people they could tell, the better.

"We didn't want to spread pain too much, but also Nod just wanted to focus on what he had to focus on.

"And endless questions, well-meaning though they may be, you don't want everybody you've ever met in your life to be calling up asking 'how is he?'"

'Leave people alone'

There was much speculation about the Princess of Wales's health before she revealed her cancer diagnosis on Friday

Mrs Holder said the news had been overwhelming and that she could not have coped with telling people when Mr Holder was initially diagnosed.

Reflecting on the speculation about the Princess of Wales's health before she revealed she had cancer, Mrs Holder said it was a real shame that Catherine had to announce her diagnosis in Friday's video.

"I know how hard it was just to tell people what I had to tell people, when I was dealing with what Noddy went through," Mrs Holder said.

"You can't underestimate how difficult it must have been for her to sit and record that video."

She added: "To have too much intrusion while you're right at the eye of the storm of it, I think it's very hard and I do wish people would leave other people alone.

"I would never think I'm entitled to know everything about somebody just because I know who they are through whatever they do."