BBC presenter Nick Owen receives MBE

Nick Owen said he felt grateful for his long career, its great variety and the people he had met

Television presenter Nick Owen has received his MBE from the Princess Royal.

The BBC Midlands Today presenter was awarded the accolade in June, as part of the King’s Birthday Honours List, for services to charity and broadcasting.

Owen, 76, said after the ceremony at Windsor Castle he was "absolutely thrilled" and stunned and had been "very grateful" for his more than 50-year career in broadcasting.

He also explained that, after sharing publicly last year that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, how pleased and overwhelmed he was that other men were inspired to get tested.

Nick Owen received the honour from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle

He said he had "no symptoms at all" at the time of his diagnosis, but now says his prognosis is "looking very good".

Owen discussed his experiences on BBC Midlands Today and BBC Breakfast and said the response had been "absolutely phenomenal".

"Literally thousands of people wrote and got in touch, whether it was males or wives or mothers, saying, 'You've finally persuaded my husband, brother, son to do something about it', and the response was staggering," he said.

"Only last week, I met someone, it was very humbling, they said I saved his life because he went and had a PSA [Prostate Specific Antigen test] because of what I said on television and turned out he'd got it and he's had an operation."

Nick Owen said he was "absolutely thrilled" to be awarded an MBE

Owen has presented various shows including his collaboration with fellow journalist Anne Diamond, Good Morning with Anne and Nick in the 1990s.

He said he felt lucky to be still doing the job he loves.

"You get to interview so many people - I think I've interviewed seven or eight prime ministers now, as well as top showbiz stars from around the world and sports stars and so on," he said.

"I'm just grateful for so many different aspects of my life, the great variety, the opportunities and the people I've met and the events I've been to.

Nick Owen has been a familiar face on television screens for 50 years

Many hundreds of congratulatory messages were posted on social media when Owen was awarded the MBE.

He has also spent three decades working with charities such as the Edward's Trust, Baby Lifeline and Prostate Cancer UK.