Mel McLaughlin is reportedly set to reveal her shock cancer diagnosis in an exclusive interview with Mark Ferguson on Wednesday night.
The Channel Seven sports presenter, 46, who has been absent from on-air duties since January, has been quietly undergoing treatment for months, The Daily Telegraph reports.
McLaughlin is expected to speak publicly about her diagnosis for the first time during the Seven News 6pm bulletin.
According to the publication, McLaughlin was diagnosed before the start of the summer cricket series in early November last year.
Speculation mounted about McLaughlin’s absence after she disappeared from screens in January and was replaced by Matthew White during the evening news bulletins.
McLaughlin was thought to be returning to work in February; however, Seven confirmed to news.com.au last week that she would not be back on air until March 15, ‘at the earliest’.
Mel McLaughlin is reportedly set to reveal her shock cancer diagnosis in an exclusive interview with Mark Ferguson on Wednesday night
In her interview with Ferguson on Wednesday night, McLaughlin will reportedly detail the treatment she has been undergoing since her diagnosis
During her interview with Ferguson on Wednesday night, McLaughlin will reportedly detail the treatment she has been undergoing since her diagnosis.
In a promo for the sit-down, she is seen sitting with Ferguson at an empty sports stadium and sighing, before a voiceover says: ‘Mel McLaughlin, the face of sport, but missing from TV. Normally so private, but now the story she’s ready to tell.’
According to The Daily Telegraph, several of McLaughlin’s Seven colleagues were told about her health battle after the promo aired on Wednesday morning.
Daily Mail has reached out to Seven for comment.
The news comes after it was confirmed that McLaughlin and her boyfriend, British football manager Ashley Westwood, split after 10 years together last year.
The separation was said to have occurred around the time Westwood left his coaching job at the Hong Kong Football Club in November.
Westwood and McLaughlin kept a very low profile during their relationship.
The pair met in late 2015 while she was in India working for Star TV on contract with Network Ten.
In the promo for the sit-down, she is seen sitting with Ferguson at an empty sports stadium and sighing, before a voiceover says: ‘Mel McLaughlin, the face of sport, but missing from TV. Normally so private, but now the story she’s ready to tell’
The news comes after it was confirmed that McLaughlin and her boyfriend, British football manager Ashley Westwood, split after 10 years together last year
The pair met in late 2015 while she was in India working for Star TV on contract with Network Ten
Westwood, a father of five by three different women, and his second wife, Huma, were staying at the same Mumbai hotel when he and McLaughlin met.
Westwood, who was coaching a Malaysian football team at the time, has since said his romance with McLaughlin began in 2016, after his marriage ended.
In January that same year, McLaughlin made headlines when she was propositioned by West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle while he played for the Melbourne Renegades.
During a live cross, Gayle asked McLaughlin for a drink after a Big Bash League game in Hobart, and then told her, ‘Don’t blush, baby,’ when she looked embarrassed.
Gayle was later fined $10,000 and insisted he was joking.
McLaughlin was already divorced when she met Westwood, having separated from her musician husband, Luke Panic, in 2014.
The presenter, who was born and raised in Sydney, rose to prominence after joining Fox Sports in 2007.
Six years later, McLaughlin was poached by Network Ten to host their Big Bash coverage.
She moved to the Seven Network in 2016.
