BBC Countryfile star Adam Henson’s wife wrote heartbreaking goodbye letters after cancer diagnosis
Country File star Adam Henson has bravely opened up about his wife Charlie’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis and how it has affected their family – including the heartbreaking admission that she wrote farewell letters to her loved ones.
The TV presenter, 58, revealed the couple ‘cried a lot’ and decided to get married quickly after Charlie was diagnosed, seeing the wedding as a way to ‘say goodbye to everyone’.
Charlie, who is now recovering, fell ill over Christmas 2020 and saw a doctor in February 2021 when she was still unwell. Doctors later found a 4.5 cm tumor.
The couple married in a ceremony in front of their closest loved ones at the Stroud Registrar Office in September 2021 – just one day before Charlie was booked for surgery.
In 2023 Adam told The mirror: ‘Those vows strengthened my emotions and allowed me to say from the heart how I feel about Charlie.’
Country File star Adam Henson has courageously opened up about his wife Charlie’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis and how it has affected their family (pictured in 2019)
The pair had first met in their teens in sixth form and live together on the 1,600-acre Cotswolds farm where Adam grew up. They are proud parents of children Ella and Alfie, who are now both in their twenties.
Charlie admitted that marriage had never been important to her until her diagnosis, especially since she wasn’t sure at the time whether the cancer was terminal or not.
Fortunately, it was later confirmed that Charlie had a neuroendocrine tumor, which appeared to be operable.
She was booked for surgery the day after the wedding and the whole family drove to London for the operation.
Heartbreakingly, Charlie recalled how she had prepared for the worst: ‘It was terrible having to say goodbye to them all in hospital.
‘Cancer is so lonely; you get all this love and support from everyone, but you’re still on your own. It is so hard.
‘I had written letters to Adam, the children and my sisters, and left them on my bedside table for them to find.
“All I could do now was cling to the fact that I still had a chance, no matter how small.”
The pair first met in their teens in sixth form and live together on the 1,600-acre Cotswolds farm where Adam grew up. They are proud parents of children Ella and Alfie, who are now both in their 20s (pictured in 2023)
The TV presenter, 58, revealed the couple ‘cried a lot’ and decided to get married quickly after Charlie’s diagnosis, seeing the wedding as a way to ‘say goodbye to everyone’ (pictured on Countryfile last month)
Charlie underwent the operation, which was successful, and is now in ‘continuous recovery’ having scans every six months, admitting she still finds the wait for the results ‘absolutely terrifying’.
When Charlie first started feeling unwell in February 2021, the couple booked an appointment with their GP and was referred for various tests.
Initially, her stool samples were analyzed for a possible farm infection and came back negative. But by May, Charlie was suffering from crippling diarrhea and had lost five stone, admitting she felt ‘exhausted’ and ‘washed out’.
She then underwent a malabsorption test to check her digestion. The test showed that she was not producing enough enzymes to produce her food. Her GP diagnosed an ‘insufficient pancreas’, which can be treated with diet changes and medication.
Charlie was told by doctors there was nothing to worry about, but she was still worried after searching the internet for her symptoms, which revealed they were consistent with pancreatic cancer.
Her doctor insisted it was ‘highly unlikely’ she had the disease but booked her in for a scan.
After an agonizing five-week wait, during which the family thought ‘no news means good news’, the test results came back.
When Charlie got the news while Charlie was filming in Scotland in August 2021, Charlie was told over the phone that she had pancreatic cancer and that a 4.5cm tumor had been found.
Cancer: Charlie fell ill over Christmas 2020 and saw a doctor in February 2021 when she was still unwell, and doctors later found a 4.5cm tumor. She is now in ‘continuing recovery’
The TV star is best known for his presenting role on Countryfile, which he has held since 2001 when Charlie – a location manager at the BBC – encouraged him to go for the role.
Charlie recently described hearing the news as ‘absolute hell’, adding: ‘I couldn’t process it, it was too big to comprehend.’
She admitted that she knew people who had died of pancreatic cancer and thought it was the end of her life when she remembered the devastating news.
Reflecting on the moment he found out, Adam said: “As a farmer you solve problems every day, from the moment you wake up until you go to bed,” he says. ‘But I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to solve this.
‘I was terrified. It was emotionally overwhelming. All I could do was face the facts and be as supportive as possible.”
Charlie is now back working in television as a location manager and hopes to travel more with Adam.
The TV star is best known for his presenting role on Countryfile, which he has held since 2001 when Charlie – a location manager at the BBC – encouraged him to go for the role.
Countryfile airs weekly on BBC One every Sunday, reporting on rural, farming and environmental issues in Britain.