Dr Chris Steele celebrates 35 years of This Morning

During today’s This Morning, Dr Zoe Williams sat down with Dr Chris Steele MBE to celebrate his incredible achievements during his 35 years on the show, taking a look back at the impact he’s had and the lives he’s saved. 

Earlier this week, the show marked it’s 35th anniversary with a throwback clip of the first This Morning episode with Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegagn in 1988. Ever since that first show, This Morning has been at the forefront of highlighting health issues, helping millions across the nation, with Dr Chris having been at the centre of it all since the very beginning.

Visiting him at home, Dr Zoe explained: “He’s been a massive, massive inspiration to me. In fact, I would say he’s been part of the reason I wanted to get into medicine in the first place so it’s a real privilege to be given the opportunity to catch up with Chris… and take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of his amazing career.” 

Having joined the show in 1988, after meeting Richard and Judy as their family doctor, Dr Chris explained: “It’s a long time ago, it feels like a long time ago and it is a long time you know. When I went on the show, I actually said ‘Look, I’ll do this for about three months’ because I was a family GP, you know, full time.”  

He continued: “It was quite exciting for the whole practice, especially the patients. The patients loved it, you know. They’d say ‘I was in Tesco and I told everybody, he’s my GP you know! I’m seeing him tomorrow morning’ and it was wonderful.”  

Dr Chris’ first ever appearance on This Morning was to discuss the MMR vaccine, explaining: “That was information for the viewers and also to highlight the importance of the MMR vaccine, because there were doubts about it and I think that’s our job… nevermind treating patients… teaching them the causes of the disease, what the disease is and what the treatments will do.”  

Dr Chris was involved in spearheading the first live breast examination on British television in 1989 and explained why the demonstration was so ground breaking:

“The powers that be said ‘We’re not doing that, naked breasts mid-morning?’ and eventually they accepted it and the beauty of that is, women were just given leaflets on how to examine your breasts [previously]. 

“You know what, there’s nothing better than image and so many women responded to these videos. The response from the viewers and the breast cancer that we detected, patients were so grateful [saying] ‘Thank you This Morning, thank you This Morning’.”  

A decade after that ground breaking TV moment, Dr Chris created history again and performed the first testicular examination on morning television in 1999.

Remembering the occasion, he said: “That was a taboo subject… ‘No way are we having a guy naked from the waist down on morning television’ and the programme just contacted an agency, a male model said ‘Yeah, I’ll do it. No problem at all’. 

“That was a very interesting progression forwards and showing testicles, and how to examine your testicles, seeing it being done is better than reading a leaflet.”  

In 1996, Dr Chris also bravely allowed cameras to film surgery to treat his own skin cancer, telling Dr Zoe why he wanted to do so: “Just to let the viewers see exactly what it entails, what the skin cancer looked like but also, they’re watching it and seeing the results afterwards and the very good result that I did get.” 

He continued: “If it takes the fear of the surgery away from them… You’re not going to be disfigured hopefully, you’re going to be cured and of course, it gets them talking.”  

In 2010, Dr Chris was awarded an MBE for his services to medicine and broadcasting.- discussing the experience he said: “A great experience going down to the Queen’s home! It’s just nice to be awarded that you know, an MBE.”  

Dr Zoe replied: “I think it’s incredible that you got that recognition that you deserve, big thank you from me and a big thank you from everyone at This Morning and everyone from this nation that has watched you for the last 35 years. You’ve helped so many people.”  

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1, STV and ITVX