The Alarm frontman Mike Peters in remission after groundbreaking blood cancer trial at The Christie

ITV Granada Reports journalist Anna Youssef has been speaking to Mike Peters, lead singer of the The Alarm, has been living with cancer for almost three decades.

The frontman of rock band The Alarm is in remission from aggressive cancer for the first time in nearly 30 years thanks to an innovative NHS drug trial.

Mike Peters, 65, was forced to cancel the Welsh band's US tour earlier in the year after being diagnosed with fast-growing lymphoma, Richter's syndrome.

The musician has been battling chronic slow-growing lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) - a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow - since 1995.

But Peters, who has supported U2 and Status Quo on tour, has finally been given the all-clear following experimental therapy at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.

Since being diagnosed 29 years ago Peters has undergone numerous drug treatments and rounds of chemotherapy, and had thought his cancer was being held in check.

However, in April, five days before he was due to fly to Chicago for a 50-date US tour, he noticed a lump in his neck had appeared overnight.

A biopsy confirmed Richter’s syndrome, prompting him to cancel the tour and begin immediate treatment.

He said: “I was getting up at 6am to take my boys to Wembley to watch Manchester United in the cup, and I shaved…and there was a big lump in my neck.

“I didn’t think too much of it – I thought, ‘Oh, it’ll pass’. But as luck would have it, I’d arranged to meet my doctor the next day because I was going to America on the Saturday.

“I walked into the consultation, and I’d given blood, and (the doctor) said, ‘Mike, your blood count is absolutely plum normal, is there anything you need to tell me? Anything changed?’

“I said, ‘Well, I’ve got this big lump in my neck’, and he examined it, and his face went white. By 3pm that afternoon, I was having an emergency biopsy.”

Mike is now in complete remission after undergoing a clinical trial at The Christie.

Peters, who is married to Jules, 57, and has two sons, Dylan, 20 and Evan, 17, said he was told without prompt action he only had a couple of months to live.

"Fear struck me", Mike said. "Because you instantly go on the internet in these situations and it just amplifies the fear."

The father-of-two was referred from the North Wales Cancer Centre to The Christie, where he enrolled in a phase II clinical trial investigating the combination of acalabrutinib, a targeted therapy, with standard chemotherapy.

"They said 'we are going to have to throw the kitchen sink at you'", he said. "But I didn't think they'd throw the freezer, the fridge, the hob and the dishwasher too!"

While acalabrutinib is approved for CLL, this was its first use in treating Richter’s syndrome.

Peters responded positively to the treatment, with scans in August showing no signs of cancer. He has described the news as a "miracle".

"It's amazing. To be told I'm in complete remission after being given a diagnosis is miraculous. I am so grateful for the team at The Christie," he said.

He is now awaiting a stem cell transplant, which doctors hope will prevent the cancer from returning.

"It is the first time in 29 years that I have had the potential to get a cure and I'm going to grab that with both hands", Mike added.

"With every song I've ever written, with every concert I've ever played - I'm going to get a cure, I really believe that."

"I represent the new face of cancer", he said. "People have got a fighting chance. People are going to survive, especially if they get early diagnosis."

He added that the NHS teams who have cared for him over the years have been "brilliant" and "supportive of the end".

Speaking about his family, Mike said: "They kept me mentally strong to survive the ordeal of cancer."

Professor Adrian Bloor, consultant haematologist at The Christie and lead for the STELLAR trial, noted that Richter’s syndrome is rare and often difficult to treat.

He is hopeful that the trial’s combination therapy will also prove effective for others.

The trial is funded by Blood Cancer UK as part of their Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP).

The charity emphasised the importance of improving blood cancer treatment options, with Peters' success highlighting the potential of clinical trials to transform patient outcomes.

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