Former BBC and Sky News presenter Murnaghan dies aged 68

Dermot Murnaghan died peacefully at his home in north London on Saturday morning, aged 68, after a period of illness with prostate cancer. His family posted a statement on his X account saying he was with them at the end and thanking the medical teams who cared for him with “such sensitivity and extraordinary compassion”.

Across five decades in broadcasting, Murnaghan became one of the most familiar faces on British television news. He was a lead anchor for Sky News for 15 years until 2023, presented BBC Breakfast from September 2002 to December 2007, and fronted BBC News at Six and Ten, ITV News, Channel 4 programmes and Eggheads, which he hosted from 2003 to 2014.

The broadcaster revealed in June 2025 that he had stage four prostate cancer. He described the disease as “incurable but it’s not untreatable” and said he had no symptoms, adding that he felt he had “fallen through the gaps” in testing. After the diagnosis he became an ambassador for Prostate Cancer Research and backed its campaign for a national screening programme for men at higher risk.

His disclosure gave a public voice to a problem that remains a major health issue in the United Kingdom. Cancer Research UK says there are around 57,900 new prostate cancer cases and about 12,300 deaths every year in the UK, and that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK men. Murnaghan’s account of a late-stage diagnosis without warning signs underscored how easily the disease can advance before it is picked up.

His family said they were grateful for the messages of goodwill he received after the diagnosis. For viewers who grew up with his reporting, and for men confronting the risks of a disease often found too late, his death leaves behind both a long broadcasting record and a sharper argument for earlier detection.