BBC radio star John Spencer-Barnes has sparked concerned among worried fans after revealing he was undergoing surgery in his second hospital stay in months.
The 63-year-old shared that he'd been admitted to hospital for an operation, just months after he was sent as an emergency due to devoloping symptoms consistent with stroke. BBC Radio 5 Live host John shared the troubling news with fans, who inundated him with messages of support.
Writing on X, he told his followers: "I had nothing better to do today so I decided to check into Burnley General Hospital for an operation,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, as he shared a snap from his hospital bed. I'll see you on the other side."
Although he hasn't yet elaborated on what the procedure was, fans wished him well while he recovers. One social media user commented: "If you want some grapes and a bottle of wine sneaked in I'm only 15 minutes away from Burnley. Hope all goes well."
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@JohnBarnesUK/X)Another added: "Thinking of you," while a third wrote: "Wishing you a speedy recovery x" Meanwhile, a fourth fan joked: "Hope you have a lovely sleep."
John later updated his well-wishers, letting them know his operation was over and he was in recovery, thanking his medical team. He added: Thank you to Burnley General Hospital for their amazing care over the last 24 hours even though they sent me to Whamageddon in recovery."
Back in July, John gave fans another update on his health, revealing that he had previously suffered two strokes back in 2015. He wrote: "I've been released from hospital following the manifestation of some stroke related symptoms. After having two strokes in 2015 it’s something that I'm anxious to avoid again. The examination suggested there’s no immediate concerns and I'm being referred for more tests this week."
John grew up in Dudley, West Midlands in 1961, before heading to Wolverhampton for university. He started out as a freelancer, working at BRMB in Birmingham, before moving to the Beeb's WM Heartlands from 1989 to 1991. John went on to work at Chiltern Radio Network before becoming the launch manager of Welsh station Radio Maldwyn.
In 1994 he landed a News Editor role at Rock FM in Preston, Lancashire, where he co-ordinated the EMAP Radio response to the IRA bombing in Manchester. His emergency news service replaced Manchester's Key 103 and Piccadilly Magic off air.
More recently, he's worked at a variety of BBC regional stations, before deciding to become a freelancer after lockdown forced him to "rethink" his priorities. He told RadioToday in 2021: "The BBC wanted me to stay but it was the right time for me to move on to the next stage. Right now, I’m renovating our 300-year-old house with my husband Dave and will be taking on more work when that’s done but right now I want to get back to doing a little bit of radio as it’s always been in my blood.
“After working from home for the last year I’ve grown a rather fashionable lockdown beard which hopefully shouldn’t prove to be too much of an issue on the radio!"
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