Gyles Brandreth has opened up about the devastating moment his family’s world was turned upside down — recalling the “shock to the system” of discovering his baby grandson had cancer, and sharing how the ordeal reshaped his understanding of illness, childhood and resilience.
The much-loved television personality and podcast host, now 77, has spoken candidly about the horror he felt when his grandson Kitt was diagnosed with cancer at just 15 months old in April 2017 — a diagnosis that came after what first appeared to be a harmless discovery during a routine nappy change.
Kitt’s parents noticed a small, pea-shaped lump near his stomach. Initially, a GP reassured them it was likely to be a cyst or a hernia. But further tests delivered a far more frightening reality: Kitt was suffering from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive soft-tissue sarcoma.
Fewer than 60 children are diagnosed with the cancer each year in the UK.
Reflecting on the moment, Brandreth admitted the news shattered his assumptions about the disease.
“Kitt’s diagnosis was a shock to the system,” he said. “We think of cancer as something that happens to unlucky middle-aged people. You think of breast cancer or prostate cancer, and older people — but you don’t think of children. Well, we didn’t.”
He added that the family had not grasped just how long and emotionally demanding the road ahead would be.
Kitt — now 10 years old — lives abroad with his parents and older brother Rory, 19, and has been in remission for eight years. But the journey to recovery was anything but straightforward.
After his diagnosis, Kitt was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), where he underwent intensive chemotherapy that caused him to lose his hair. He also required multiple blood and platelet transfusions and later suffered a serious bacterial infection that impacted both his heart and liver.
At one point during treatment, Kitt developed veno-occlusive disease, a rare but life-threatening condition caused by high doses of chemotherapy that blocks small veins in the liver and can lead to multiple organ failure.
Despite the fear, Brandreth said there was a profound sense of reassurance once they learned Kitt would be treated at GOSH.
“The moment we heard he was going to Great Ormond Street, we felt reassured because of their world-class reputation,” he explained. “There was the sense that whatever needed to be available would be available.”
Describing the experience as deeply emotional, Brandreth praised the hospital staff at every level.
“It’s a case of holding your breath, being patient and trusting in the team,” he said. “And I have to say the team were matchless — from the consultants right through to the nursing staff and everyone else. You never feel alone. Everyone is there for you. It’s very moving.”
While Kitt’s parents — Brandreth’s writer daughter Saethryd and her Army veteran husband Mark — focused entirely on their son’s care, Brandreth saw his own role as something quieter but equally important.
“I was Grandpa,” he said. “Providing a sense of normality.”
He recalled spending time doing jigsaws, building and knocking down constructions together, and teaching his grandson humorous poems — small moments of childhood joy amid the uncertainty.
Brandreth also highlighted GOSH’s commitment to remembering that children are still children, even during the most serious treatment.
“What they do brilliantly is remember that children are children,” he said, praising the hospital’s playrooms and specialist teams dedicated to emotional wellbeing.
Looking back, Brandreth reflected on the pace of medical progress, admitting the family quickly learned that breakthroughs in cancer treatment take time.
“You read about exciting new treatments in the papers,” he said. “But when you speak to the doctors, you realise they aren’t available yet.”
While significant advances — including CAR T-cell therapy, pioneered at GOSH — have transformed outcomes for some children, many paediatric cancers are still treated using drugs developed decades ago.
Now in remission, Kitt continues to attend yearly check-ups at GOSH.
Brandreth is currently supporting GOSH Charity’s appeal to build a new, world-leading Children’s Cancer Centre, ahead of World Cancer Day, urging greater investment in kinder and more effective treatments for young patients.
