LEGENDARY Knutsford broadcaster Mark Radcliffe has unveiled an engraved park bench in his beloved Manchester – but one unlike any other.

In a twist to the ‘in memoriam’ benches which are a familiar site in beauty spots across the country, Mark’s bench attests to his recovery from cancer and salutes the scientists, doctors and nurses who are making game-changing progress in tackling the disease.

The inscription reads: ‘Mark Radcliffe loved sitting here….and still does thanks to advances in cancer research’.

The bench was revealed to launch the Re-Write Cancer campaign – a £20 million joint fundraising appeal from Cancer Research UK, The Christie Charitable Fund and The University of Manchester.

The campaign aims to help meet the cost of a new £150 million cancer research facility.

The new building will bring together the largest concentration of scientists, doctors and nurses in Europe to collaborate and accelerate progress for cancer patients.

Knutsford Guardian:

Mark unveiled his bench in the grounds of The University of Manchester where he studied in the late 1970s.

He said: “It’s an absolute honour to be involved in the Re-Write Cancer campaign. I loved my years studying at The University of Manchester, so it’s the perfect site for the bench.

“Facing a cancer diagnosis was extremely tough – it completely turned my life upside down and made me re-evaluate what really matters to me.

“But thousands of people are in the same boat every year, and I was fortunate to receive excellent care at The Christie.”

Mark was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. The 61-year-old had a cancerous tumour removed from his tongue.

The cancer had also spread to lymph nodes in his neck. Following successful treatment he returned to the airwaves in February of this year.

Knutsford Guardian:

The new £150 million cancer research facility is due to open in 2022.

Adjoining The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, it has been designed to foster collaboration and speed up progress on behalf of cancer patients in the north west and across the world.

Mark added: “Plans for the new research building sound exciting, and it’s amazing that such a world-leading facility will be built on my doorstep in the north west.

“Research into cancer is the key to changing lives now and in the future. Without it I simply wouldn’t be standing – or sitting - here today.”