He has been labelled a 'shock-jock', once given the title of rudest man on TV, and even describes himself as "still annoying after 50 years". However, as he revealed in an exclusive with the Express, for which he writes a column, James Whale is actually "a big softie". But, he's a big softie living with stage four kidney cancer.
In a 'behind the persona' interview with the publication, the TalkRadio and Talk TV host, who once did a stint at Radio Derby, revealed his cancer prognosis and gave an insight into the real life of the man.
James' wife, Nadine Lamont-Brown, says: “When you watch him at work, it’s a persona." She adds: "He can sometimes go into ‘work mode’ at home, and I’ll have to say, ‘You’re not at work now, you can’t cut me off’." And when she adds: "No, he’s very kind and thoughtful – no one’s ever been nicer to me.” James shoots back: “You’re ruining my reputation".
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When James first met his wife Nadine in a Kent village pub, she confesses she had never heard of him, adding: “If I’d Googled him, I’d have thought, ‘He doesn’t seem like a very nice man’ and we wouldn’t have got together.”
Luckily for James, 71, his now wife of 18 months didn't Google him, and the pair married. He now openly admits that it is his love for his wife that has given him the strength to fight his terminal cancer diagnosis, although he revealed he had considered euthanasia after his diagnosis.
He told the Express: "'I am terminally ill, it would have been easier all around. The reason I wanted to go to Dignitas was because I was thinking of others, not me.' He added that he was 'glad' he didn't make the decision to go to Switzerland because it has given him 'two great years' with his wife Nadine.
James and Nadine married 14 months after the radio host revealed that he is battling spine, brain and kidney cancer, and three years after his first wife Melinda died. Melinda and James were married for 48 years and had two sons together - she died just months after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.
James first revealed that he had kidney cancer back in 2000. The disease returned twenty years later, spreading to his brain, spine and lungs. James adds: "I’m not scared of dying. I want to be buried in the churchyard at the top of the hill. It’s a great view."
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