BBC Escape to the Country star shares update after brain tumour shock | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Nicki Chapman, renowned for her stint as a Pop Idol judge and her current presenter role in Escape to the Country, has termed being diagnosed with a brain tumour as “the most frightening experience of her life”. The presenter, 57, opened up about her terrifying diagnosis in an earnest new memoir titled ‘So Tell Me What You Want’, which is available for readers now.

In this raw and revealing book, Chapman recounts the emotional upheaval following the discovery of her non-cancerous brain tumour back in 2019. “Receiving that news was, without doubt, the most shocking and frightening experience of my life – even worse than being chased by an elephant on safari with the Spice Girls,” she divulges in her tell-all account peppered with high-profile anecdotes.

After a successful surgery to remove the brain tumour, Chapman became a dedicated ambassador for the Brain Tumour Charity, drawing on her personal journey. Despite requiring ongoing vigilance with scans every 18 months, she remains buoyantly positive, drawing life lessons from her ordeal.

Chapman reflects: “When they took the tumour out, it didn’t all come out, and the bit that was left has disappeared, which is not rare.”

Moreover, she candidly shares the radical impact of her health scare: “The only thing it really made me do is have a greater sense of gratitude. I had a brain tumour. I didn’t have brain cancer, but my surgeon and the NHS had that conversation with me. I made my will. You know, nothing is given and it does give you an appreciation.”

Nicki, who started her career as a promotions assistant at MCA and climbed the ranks to become head of promotions at RCA, has worked with some of the music industry’s most illustrious names, including Take That, the Spice Girls, Annie Lennox, and David Bowie.

In an interview with PA, she reminisced about her glittering career: “Gary [Barlow] is so talented and very funny. He can literally sit at a piano and do a ditty straight away.”

“Looking after the Spice Girls was like herding cats, trying to keep them all together. They all had something, there wasn’t a weak one in the band.”

Nicki also shared some of the more bizarre demands she encountered from top music acts.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges wanted a Bob Hope impersonator and seven dwarves wearing pointy hats; Prince required a particular coffee machine, lavender and jasmine tea, Vitamin B shots, and insisted that everything be covered in cling film.

All meals had to be presented on a trestle table, akin to those used for wallpapering.

Despite witnessing some extreme diva antics, Nicki expressed understanding for the artists’ behaviour, saying: “There was some incredible diva behaviour, but weigh this up. These people are on promo, working every day away from home, putting on that face, meeting their fans, performing, never really knowing what country they’re in and just want things to be right,” she adds.

“If they’ve asked for food, they want it there, they don’t want to wait half an hour in the pouring rain for the car because it hasn’t turned up. Often, these tantrums aren’t because they are being outlandish. They’re worn down. They’re tired. You get fractious, don’t you? “.