British commentator and broadcaster Alan Wilkins is one of the most well-recognised voices in sport. He has been on the airwaves for cricket matches and for Wimbledon broadcasts, instantly recognisable to a certain generation.
Wilkins’ voice had to be forced off the air temporarily, as the broadcaster struggled through and recovered from a dangerous tiff with throat cancer and HPV. For a man who placed plenty of pride in his vocation, this was a threat to his identity and legacy just as it was to his health.
Speaking to WalesOnline about the harrowing experience of receiving the diagnosis, Wilkins was straightforwardly honest about the fears that accompanied receiving the news.
“What if I lose everything I’ve worked for? I didn’t want an abrupt finish to my career. That’s not vanity. It’s my work. It’s me,” said Wilkins regarding his first response when he was given the news.
“There was nothing wrong. No pain. No illness. Just a tickle at the back of my throat,” explained Wilkins. The Welsh broadcaster was cover the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados when the first hints of the cancer were noted.
HPV complicates things for Wilkins
After going to the doctor, it was a straightforward assessment when a tumour was discovered near his tonsils – “He just said, very bluntly: ‘You’ve got cancer.’”
For Wilkins, it brought about questions of how it had come to be the case: “I thought ‘how can this be?’ I don’t smoke. I look after myself.”
To make matters worse, Wilkins was soon after diagnosed with HPV – human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection that can act as a symptom and a cause for cancer.
“I said ‘What on earth is that?’ I had never heard of it before,” said Wilkins of that diagnosis.
Of course, Wilkins was also met with more personal questions and doubts, having been diagnosed as he neared his seventies.
“I said, ‘There has to be another way.’ This is important for me. It’s my livelihood,” expressed Wilkins, who would return to commentary and be greeted by plenty of well-wishers and positive shoulders of support in the cricket community.
Wilkins speaks out for HPV awareness
Wilkins’ treatment would begin soon after the diagnosis and proceeded extremely positively thanks to being caught early. The treatment would conclude in October 2024, and Wilkins returned to commentary soon after, arriving in Dubai for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
Wilkins now serves as president of the Glamorgan County Cricket Club from his home in Wales, as he continues to be a big presence in cricket. With a family
“It’s the not knowing that’s frightening,” he said. “You don’t know what the cancer is. You don’t know how it will affect you.” Since his diagnosis, Wilkins has recognised his position and begun to campaign for more awareness surrounding HPV, and gaining vaccination against the disease.
“If sharing this helps one person go to their doctor with a ‘tickle’ that won’t go away, then it’s worth it,” Wilkins concluded. “I made a vow to myself, to Susie, to our family, that this wouldn’t get me, and it hasn’t.”