Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson has spoken about her cancer ordeal in a new documentary and spoken to others in the football world who have seen their lives upended by the disease
19:02, 19 Nov 2025
Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson has spoken about her battle with cancer(Image: https://www.instagram.com/jowilsontv/)
Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson has opened up on her battle with cancer, revealing she feared she was going to die and even ‘prepared for the worst’ after receiving the devastating news.
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2022 after going for a routine smear test. Wilson has now been free from cancer for two years but underwent a traumatic ordeal following her diagnosis. Further tests confirmed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and six weeks of treatment were required before being she was given the all clear in June 2023.
The broadcaster, who joined Sky Sports in 2011, had radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy: an internal form of targeted radiotherapy. Although the treatment saved her life, it forced her into early menopause, which has had a big impact on her presenting career.
Wilson’s cancer diagnosis came just two years after giving birth to her daughter Mabel in 2020. And the presenter has recalled the fear she felt during the ordeal as part of a new Sky Sports News documentary titled Football, Cancer, and Me, revealing she didn’t want to burden those around her with the news despite wondering if she would die.
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She said: “It hit me like a truck. I did wonder if I’m going to die. I’d prepared myself for the worst, I think you have to.
“I actually didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to put it on anyone.
“If one person can see this and make a phone call to the doctor because something doesn’t feel right, then it’s worth talking about.”
Wilson joined Sky Sports back in 2011(Image: Sky Sports)
In the documentary, Wilson speaks to Sky Sports News colleague Emma Saunders and former manager Tony Mowbray about their own cancer battles. Ex-Middlesbrough and Blackburn boss Mowbray revealed a bowel cancer diagnosis last year.
Saunders required surgery when she developed a brain infection following a thyroid cancer diagnosis. She was placed into a coma and left with a huge scar that shocked her partner, football manager Will Still.
The ex-Southampton boss said: “The scariest bit was the operation itself. She goes down totally fine and then comes back five or six hours later with this massive gash. I wasn’t ready for that.
“The toughest bit was being in a different country and trying to manage a football club at the same time. You always have that bit of guilt.”
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