Lisa Faulkner has revealed that she is facing a battle with breast cancer. The TV chef, who is married to John Torode, has already undergone surgery in a bid to fight the disease and now faces a course of radiotherapy. In an emotional update shared on Instagram, the ITV chef, 54, explained why she had been quiet on social media in recent weeks as she revealed her diagnosis.

Lisa began: “Hi there. I just wanted to come on because I know that I’ve been very quiet on here. The reason being I have had to have surgery for the early stages of breast cancer.

“I had surgery two weeks ago, it was quite a big op but it’s all good and I’ve my results back and they’ve got everything out."

The actress looked to be in positive spirits, as she continued: “So it’s all clear and I just need now to have some radiotherapy in a few weeks.

“I just wanted to say I’ve got a bit of healing to do but I’m good. I’m well and feeling so much better and I’m so grateful I went for my mammogram. I just wanted to say don’t put them off, go, because they found this and without that mammogram it wouldn’t have been picked up."

Lisa concluded: “Thank you to our wonderful NHS and the fact we can have these mammograms and we can get treatment early.”

The ITV favourite was inundated with supportive messages from her 372,000 followers on the picture-sharing site.

Former EastEnders actor Jimmy Bye penned: "Sending love!!"

Kate Lawler said: "Oh darling. Sending you huge amounts of love and healing hugs. I’m so pleased you went for your mammogram."

Tamzin Outhwaite wrote: "Love you Lise. You’ve got this my darling."

Lisa is a British actress, television presenter, and cookery author.

She is best known for her acting roles in TV dramas like Spooks, Holby City, and EastEnders, as well as for winning Celebrity MasterChef in 2010.

She co-hosts the ITV cooking show John & Lisa's Weekend Kitchen with her husband and former MasterChef host John.