Julia Bradbury admits drastic action she's taking to 'hack' health after cancer battle

TV presenter Julia Bradbury opened up about the drastic measures she is taking to protect her health following the cancer diagnosis that caused her "world to stop."

The former Countryfile star, now 54, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and underwent a mastectomy as a result. Now cancer-free, she spoke candidly about her battle with the disease during an appearance on James Martin's Saturday Morning.

In the episode that aired today (April 26), the star said she was now taking extreme measures to future-proof her health which she will share in an upcoming book titled Hack Yourself Healthy.

"My world did stop, but once I was through [cancer treatment] and I had a left mastectomy, I really just thought 'Ok, what am I going to do now for myself to enhance my life, enhance my health and make sure I can stay healthy," she shared on the ITV programme.

"I was always into my health, I was always into walking and I enjoyed my food, but when you really start to look into health and really start to analyse what it is... then it becomes quite prescriptive."

She shared that she had recently undergone genetic testing so she knew exactly what foods would best feed her body.

"What I've done for the book is undergone all sorts of genetic testing so I know what my genetic blueprint is," she explained. "There will be certain things, a certain way that I'm wired, and there'll be certain foods I can eat that will enhance my health."

Julia was one of Channel 5's first presenters alongside Tim Vine when it launched back in 1998. She has since appeared on Watchdog between 2005 and 2009, and relaunched Countryfile with Matt Baker.

During this morning's episode of James Martin's Saturday Morning, the celebrity chef was joined by cooks Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Judy Joo and First Dates star Merlin Griffiths, who whipped up cocktails for the cast.

Merlin also went through his own cancer battle and admitted he would "never be the same again," after going through the experience. The Channel 4 star was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2021 and was declared cancer-free in 2023.

In a 2024 interview with The Mirror, he shared: "My life will never quite be the same, and anyone that has gone through bowel cancer and the horrific treatment that it involves will understand. I might look whole, but I'm actually missing about 45% of my insides. It's quite a major amputation internally that I have had."

James Martin's Saturday Morning airs Saturdays from 9.30am