Jamie Theakston's rollercoaster rise to fame and quiet life with wife off-screen

Jamie Theakston was one of the biggest stars of the '90s - and now a top radio DJ, he has been diagnosed with cancer.

Jamie, 53, had been struggling with his voice on his Heart Radio breakfast show and underwent surgery to remove a lesion from his vocal cords. "The biopsy has identified this as stage 1 Laryngeal cancer," the star shared on his Instagram page.

"So - I have cancer - but cancer doesn't have me. The prognosis is very positive and I'm hoping to be back with you in October." Here, we take a look at Jamie's incredible rise to fame and family life away from the cameras...

READ MORE: Jamie Theakston's cancer spotted by radio listeners who noticed key symptom

Born in sleepy Uckfield, Sussex, Jamie first began eyeing up a career in the spotlight aged just 13, when he joined the National Youth Theatre. The talented youngster was in good company - his contemporaries at the training academy included Bond star Daniel Craig.

Put off by the financial uncertainty of a career in acting, Jamie next went on to gain a first-class degree in Business Studies at London Metropolitan University. Fronting sports bulletins for his local BBC radio station, he was then spotted by the channel's head of sport when he was 23 and given bigger programmes to host.

By 1996, right back in the heyday of children's TV, the star had found fame on Live & Kicking alongside Zoe Ball. The pair drew huge audiences for their madcap programme and in 1999 Jamie was made the host of Radio 1 Saturday morning show too.

The BBC favourite also became one of the best-known presenters on Top of the Pops but as his career was riding high, a scurrilous tabloid headline threatened his career. In 2002 the Sunday People claimed Jamie had spent an hour romping with three prostitutes in a 'bondage dungeon'.

The star apologised to his friends and family, insisting it had been a one-off night gone too far. Jamie left Radio 1 the same year to pursue a career in acting, appearing in show's including Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Little Britain.

He next joined London radio station Heart in 2005, winning several awards for his shows with co-presenters including former Spice Girl Emma Bunton. He now hosts Heart Breakfast alongside Amanda Holden, who this week called her co-star a 'King'.

"Jamie has an amazing team that are going to get this sorted," said Amanda. "He's going to be OK, he's hoping to be back with us very soon. He's told us to hold the fort and that the show must go on."

The star married Sophie Siegle in Ditchling, East Sussex, in 2007 and the couple live with their two children in a Tudor mansion in the village. He was previously linked to models Sophie Dahl and Erin O'Connor.

More recent TV jobs have included narrating shows including Traffic Cops and Caught on Camera and appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox. But the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are eluded him - despite Jamie's colourful past, the show's genealogy team found little of interest when it came to his ancestors and the findings were never aired.