ILKLEY-born gardener Alan Titchmarsh and his fellow former Ground Force presenter Tommy Walsh are backing the first NHS campaign aimed at encouraging the public to be screened for bowel cancer.

Builder and TV personality Walsh, who has previously been diagnosed with cancer, said he knows how important early detection of the disease can be.

The 66-year-old added: “I didn’t know that detecting bowel cancer at the earliest stage makes you up to nine times more likely to be successfully treated.

“So remember, if you are sent an NHS bowel cancer screening test, do it as soon as it arrives in the post. Put it by the loo, and don’t put it off.”

In a new clip, being published on NHS social media channels, Walsh and Titchmarsh will discuss the importance of bowel cancer screening and urge eligible people to return their home tests.

They will also answer questions – written on toilet roll – about how the NHS bowel cancer screening programme in England works.

Titchmarsh said: “We know the earlier you detect cancer, the far greater your chances of survival.

“That’s why this campaign is so important – the NHS bowel cancer screening test can detect cancer even before you notice anything wrong.

“It’s quick to complete and, if you do it at soon as it arrives, you can send it off the same day, and job done! I really urge everyone to do it – you owe it to your family, and you owe it to yourself.”

The campaign is aiming to dispel the stigma surrounding the test and to carry on the legacy of Dame Deborah James, who died last year and raised millions of pounds for cancer research along with awareness of bowel cancer.

National cancer director for NHS England Dame Cally Palmer said “the entire country fell in love” with Dame Deborah and “her tireless work to bring bowel cancer to the forefront of health conversation”.

She added: “Her legacy continues on through these famous faces who are just as passionate as she is.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “The NHS’s first national campaign on bowel cancer screening means more people will be encouraged to use the home testing kit when they receive it.

“Screening makes it more likely that bowel cancer will be successfully detected and treated.

“Together with the NHS, we are continuing to extend the screening offer to those aged 50-74. I urge everyone who receives a kit to use it.”

Symptoms of bowel cancer include a persistent change in bowel habit such as pooing more often, with looser, runnier stools, blood in the poo, and abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating.

The NHS bowel cancer screening programme involves using a faecal immunochemical test (Fit) kit, which detects small amounts of blood in poo by testing a sample.

More than half a million Fit kits are posted out each month to eligible people, who are automatically sent one every two years if they are registered with a GP practice and live in England.