Julia Bradbury says she has ‘not been historically kind to her body’ as she banishes booze to stop cancer returning

Julia Bradbury has taken decisive action to try to prevent her cancer returning, nearly a year after her breast cancer diagnosis.

In a new Woman&Home shoot, she explained the lifestyle changes she is making which includes giving up alcohol as she strives to be kind to her body.

Julia was diagnosed in September 2021 and went on to have a mastectomy.

The TV presenter told the magazine she has “not been historically kind to her body” and wants to make changes to stop cancer returning.

Who is Julia Bradbury?

Television presenter Julia Bradbury was born in Dublin on 24 July 1970, and works for ITV and BBC.

Mostly presenting documentaries, Julia can be recognised from Countryfile, which she co-presented with Matt Baker from 2004-2014 and Watchdog.

Julia is known for her charity work in addition to her presenting duties. She is an ambassador for several charities including the Scout Association, Bowel and Prostate Cancer and Keeping Britain Tidy. She raised £7000 for Macmillan Cancer Support with her sister Gina Fox.

A career-high for Julia included receiving an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 2013.

In 2006, Julia was treated for endometriosis, before the 51-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer on 19 September 2021, and required a 6cm tumour and two lymph glands being removed as well as her left breast.

• Julia Bradbury was born in Dublin on 24 July 1970
• Has been married to Gerard Cunningham since 2000
• The couple have three children together
• Julia is worth an estimated $1.5 million

Her relationship: Julia married property developer Gerard Cunningham in 2000 in a low-key ceremony, and now lives with him and their three children in West London.

Despite suffering from endometriosis, Julia gave birth to their first child Zephyrus in August 2011 ahead of giving birth to twin girls Xanthe and Zena, after five rounds of IVF, in 2015.

Julia told the Daily Mail that she wanted to change her healthy habits not only to prevent the cancer returning but also for her children.

She said: “My biggest motivation is staying alive for my children. Historically, I haven’t been kind to my body or my gut, I had a reputation for drinking everybody else under the table.

“But right now, I don’t feel comfortable drinking alcohol because if I drink one unit of alcohol a day, my risk of recurrence is between 5 and 6% across my lifetime.”

Julia has not only cut out alcohol following her diagnosis but also has switched to a plant-based diet.

Her money: Across her broadcasting career that spans nearly three decades, Julia Bradbury has built up a net worth of $1.5 million.

This money is rooted in her work in radio and television, as well as her recent tell-all documentary Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me.

Her social media: With 223k followers on Instagram and 175k on Twitter, Julia is normally very active in providing updates about her professional and personal ventures in addition to posting motivational content.

In a recent Instagram post on 24 July, Julia posted a video of an elderly man jumping off a diving platform in Greece and invited her followers to live life and be grateful.

She said: “Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. Life can become harder when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier - don’t take things for granted, take them with gratitude. It is only when we realise that life isn’t taking us anywhere that it begins to have meaning.

Her connections: Julia has many close friends through her broadcast career and beyond as she once said, “she will no longer work with those who she doesn’t like or admire”.

One close friend of Julia’s includes presenter Ben Shepard who shared a heartfelt post during Julia’s diagnosis.

Julia revealed her and Ben now jokes about her breast transplant following her diagnosis by calling it her “pneumatic boob”.