Noddy Holder's wife reveals Slade singer was told he had 'six months to live' after cancer diagnosis

Slade frontman Noddy Holder was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer five years ago and told he 'only had six months to live', his wife Suzan has revealed.

The musician and actor, 77, fronted the band, known for singles Merry Xmas Everybody and Far Far Away, until he parted ways with the group in 1992.

Suzan Holder discussed the Black Country star’s cancer prognosis in Cheshire Life magazine, saying how he coped "with amazing good humour and breath-taking bravery".

She wrote: “Five years ago we were given the devastating news that he had oesophageal cancer and only had six months to live. I’m sorry if that comes as a bit of a shock, it came as a total bombshell to us too."

“We coped with it the only way we could, by hunkering down, sticking together and doing everything we could to survive it."

Suzan says the pair only told immediate close family and friends, adding she will "never apologise to those they did not confide in, only to those who were forced to suffer pain and anguish alongside us as we attempted to navigate our way through this new and horrifying world."

Mrs Holder said her husband was treated at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester where he agreed to treatment as part of a brand-new trial of intense chemotherapy.

She added: “There were no guarantees, no one knew if it would have any effect, let alone work miracles, but he responded well.

“As anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis will know, the experts never like to use the word ‘cure’, but here we are five years later and he’s feeling good and looking great.”

Mrs Holder said she was in “awe” of Noddy and praised the hospital for his treatment.

She notes how her husband has always been great at living in the moment, rather than spending time worrying about the past or the future.

She says it's this attitude that has served him well and that his recovery has been credited to his positive mindset.

“You need so much mental strength to get through something like this. I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s focus and determination but now I am completely in awe.”

This summer, Noddy performed in his home town Walsall, in the West Midlands, at Wimborne in Dorset and at The Lowry in Salford, Greater Manchester after he was invited back on stage by singer Tom Seals.