Dancing On Ice finalist Adele Roberts and her fiancée Kate Holderness open up about their new book, bowel cancer and two decades of lesbian love

BY ROXY BOURDILLON

Pictures Sophia Spring

“It’s my duty to fly that Pride flag, wave it as much as I can, because I’ve got a second chance at life”

Kate interjects, seamlessly picking up the thread of the story, “Adele said, ‘I’m sorry if this comes across weird, but I’ve got something to say.’ And I was like, ‘I know what it is.’”

“I love you,” said Adele, and Kate replied, “I love you too.”

Giving hope to queer women everywhere, the couple is still utterly smitten two decades on. A lot has happened in the intervening years. They have grown up together, navigated the incredible highs and devastating lows life has thrown at them, and through it all become closer than they could have ever imagined on that fateful first night out up North. You might know broadcaster Adele from her TV appearances on shows like Dancing On Ice and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. Maybe you were one of her millions of listeners from her Radio 1 days. Or perhaps you watched Adele and writer/actor Kate on their jollies in Celebrity Coach Trip. I know them as two of the warmest, funniest, most gracious people I’ve met while working at DIVA.

Today we’re catching up to talk about their brand new book, Personal Best, written by Adele and co-authored by Kate. “We feel like we’ve had a baby,” jokes Adele. “We need to do a gender reveal, but we’re going to call it a genre reveal.”

The motivational memoir charts the journey from Adele’s bowel cancer diagnosis in October 2021 to just 18 months later, when she casually became a Guinness World Record breaker as the fastest woman to run a marathon with an ileostomy.

For 10 years prior to receiving her diagnosis, Adele had no idea there was a tumour growing inside her. “A lot of the symptoms can be explained away. That’s what’s so scary about bowel cancer and why it is the second biggest cancer killer in our country.” Her symptoms included a bloated tummy after eating, weight loss and fatigue. “The main giveaway was getting blood in my poo, little bits of blood. Even my GP said, ‘I don’t think it’s cancer because you’re too young, but we’re going to send you for a test anyway.’ That saved my life, without a doubt.” Kate was with her when the doctor broke the news that sent them both into freefall. “I feel like I split in two that day,” shares Adele. “There was the old Adele and then the new one. I remember the whole world crashing in on me. The first thing was shock. Then being really upset, because I thought, ‘Oh god, Kate’s just heard that.’ My heart broke for Kate. And then I felt guilt, because I thought I’d done it to myself.”