JULIA BRADBURY SAYS SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR LOVELY THINGS AFTER BREAST CANCER BATTLE

If there’s one thing TV presenter Julia Bradbury has learnt since her breast cancer diagnosis five years ago, it’s not to take her health for granted. Since being given the all-clear, the 55-year-old tells OK! she now prioritises self-care, from following a healthy diet and exercising regularly, to practising meditation and gratitude.

“I’ve really taken charge of my health,” says Dublin-born Julia. “I want to make sure that I’m in the driving seat, rather than responding to crises.”

The writer and broadcaster had a single mastectomy to remove a 6cm tumour in late 2021. While she takes a pragmatic approach to her illness, she has previously admitted that she has “shed tears” in her darker moments. Julia’s day-to-day lifestyle now revolves around spending as much time as possible outdoors, coupled with a diet focused on “clean eating”, but healthy living wasn’t always a priority for the former Countryfile host.

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A decade ago, her busy work schedule making travel documentaries around the world resulted in chaotic sleeping patterns, “non-stop sugar consumption” and grabbing snacks on the go. How times change.

Today, Julia — who lives in London with her long-term partner, property developer Gerard Cunningham, and their three children — follows a diet rich in steamed vegetables, fresh berries and nutritious seeds, and walks a minimum of 10,000 steps a day.

“I completely changed my diet,” she tells us. “I cut out gluten, I cut out alcohol, I really started paying attention to my hormones. I also increased my fibre content and I’ve generally reduced my overall inflammation in my body – and I’ve done that under the guidance of medical professionals.”

Not that Julia, who is mum to son Zephyrus, 14, and 11-year-old twin girls Xanthe and Zena, has always seen eye-to-eye with medics. She says she has experience of not being listened to by healthcare practitioners.

During follow-up appointments after her cancer diagnosis, she says that when she tried to discuss lifestyle factors that could improve her health, there were “a few rollings of the eyes”.

One incident in particular stood out — the time she was told it didn’t matter what she ate or drank during her treatment. It left Julia feeling incredulous. Thankfully, there are many medics who do sing from the same hymn sheet as Julia and believe it’s crucial to maintain your health as much as you can through exercise and nutrition.

In addition to battling breast cancer, Julia has also had to deal with endometriosis, after she was first diagnosed back in 2006. “It was quite severe,” she says. “Endometriosis can result in chronic pain in the pelvic region and can be debilitating to women.” The condition required surgery, which she says was “a big deal” and led to her taking six weeks off work.

No wonder, then, that she decided to partner with Vista Health on their latest campaign, Signs Of Clarity, which is encouraging people not to ignore the warning signals their bodies give them.

In light of her earlier endometriosis diagnosis, Julia recently had a pelvic MRI via Vista Health to make sure that region was as healthy as it could be. She admits that she was “slightly anxious” when going for the scan, as there was a chance the endometriosis — which Julia explains has “no cure” — may have returned. Thankfully, the MRI showed her womb to be in good health, but Julia is still grateful she got checked out, believing our bodies need to be looked over regularly.

As well as being on top of her healthy lifestyle, Julia says that with age has come an increased confidence that’s left her “less afraid” to speak out.

“When you have experience under your belt, I think you do start to trust your instincts more and I also think that you become more of an advocate for yourself,” she explains. Studies show there is a gender health gap in the UK, with medical research still often focused on male-centric models. Conditions that are predominantly suffered by women are vastly under-researched, and it’s a predicament that bothers Julia.

“There is no question that women are underserved in the medical world,” she says. “We tend to wait longer for treatment, we tend to wait longer for diagnosis, and there tends to be fewer drugs available to us for our conditions, because a lot of the testing seems to have been done for male-centred diseases.”

There’s a feeling that Julia has had a new lease of life since her cancer diagnosis, saying recently, “Cancer saved my life in so many ways.”

She tells us, “When I was on the receiving end of those words, ‘You have cancer’, from that day forward I’ve looked at every single morning as an absolute blessing. I have a sort of positive affirmation anthem that I’ve created for myself, to be grateful for all the lovely things in my life, from simply enjoying my cup of green tea in the morning, to hugs with my children.

“One of the wonderful things about life is that new opportunities, new people, new experiences open up every day.” One of these includes her recent three-part ITV series, Julia Bradbury’s Wonders Of The Frozen South, a project she says was on her bucket list.

“The experience was phenomenal,” she beams. “To be able to share that with an audience, who have fallen in love with it, is definitely one of those big ticks.”

2026-03-14T10:15:17Z