Holly Willoughby has come under fire after the former television presenter took to social media to reveal that she had been gifted a very expensive MRI scan
Holly Willoughby has been furiously slammed by social media users, with some branding her “tone deaf”. The former This Morning star was seen smiling in front of an MRI scanner this week after revealing a company had gifted her the scan.
The 44-year-old was seen smiling as she sat on the flat bed of the Siemens MRI scanner at a London clinic, as she told fans she was being checked for early signs of cancer, as well as 500-plus other medical conditions, with a hefty price tag of £1,500. But many were left unhappy that the broadcaster was proudly promoting something that dozens of her followers may not be able to afford.
While wearing a pair of branded navy-coloured pyjamas, the presenter flashed a smile and captioned her post: “Recently @ezrainc very kindly invited me for a multi-organ MRI scan, checking for early signs of cancer and 500+ other conditions.
“As we all know, early detection saves lives, and it’s incredible this is now available in London. Having that peace of mind for me and my family is so worth it. As a company their hope is the more who do this the more available it is for everyone… #gifted.” Her post which has been liked over 28,000 times was flooded with backlash.
One person penned: “Funny how they gift it to the only people that can afford it!” Meanwhile, a second person penned: “Ultimately, it’s the company behind it who are wrong in profiteering on our health anxieties and our concerns on a crumbling health system with a £1500 price tag, but there are many celebs endorsing this company and I find it tone deaf at best…”
A third went on to type: “Be good to gift the MRI scan to somebody who cannot afford to have access to that kind of piece [sic] of mind you advertise.” “If only we were all so lucky,” commented a fourth. Holly ha since deleted all comments from her post and disabled the comment section.
Holly’s post came after a coroner said that celebrities who publicly announce their cancer diagnosis have been contributing to NHS waiting times. While public figures are “rightly encouraging” people to seek medical attention if they have concerns, the NHS is currently being stretched to the max.
Senior coroner Samantha Goward expressed her worry after a sudden surge in cancer referrals. She made her comments following the death of actor Michael Moore, who died from incurable bladder cancer. He waited nine months for a biopsy and an inquest heard that he should have been tested sooner and within 28 days of his initial referral.
At the inquest, it was revealed that Mr Moore had previously received treatment for prostate cancer, and in a check-up during 2023, an “abnormal area” was noted, and a biopsy was requested. The biopsy was only able to happen nine months later, after he was admitted to the hospital as an emergency. Then, medical staff uncovered the bladder cancer, which was, by that point, “advanced and not curable”. Hence, treatment was not in his best interests, and Mr Moore was instead given palliative care.
Following Moore’s death, Ms Goward said: “The evidence of the Hospital Trust was that work had been ongoing in recent years to reduce delays, but that while there had been some initial improvement, there had been a further decline which I was told is in part due to an increase in referrals due to high profile celebrities announcing their cancer diagnoses and rightly encouraging people to come forward with any symptoms of concern.
“Therefore, despite local measures to improve performance, this has been significantly affected by a rise in cancer referrals. I was advised that this surge has been widely reported across the NHS and I was advised that NHS England has acknowledged persistent capacity constraints across many providers.
“The concern therefore is that the NHS does not have the ability to deal with the significant number of cancer referrals received and this is causing significant delays in waiting times which impacts on those awaiting a diagnosis, undergoing surveillance and delays in diagnosing a recurrence and those awaiting treatment.”
The Mirror has approached Holly’s spokesperson for comment.
The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. If you need to talk, call us on 0808 808 0000.
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