Five years after her breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy, Julia Bradbury reflects on how the experience reshaped her outlook on life.
“Cancer saved my life in so many ways. We tend to carry on because we’re too busy to stop. And we do - until we don’t,” she tells Woman magazine. “When your health, mobility, movement, and capacity to operate on a daily basis is under threat, you’re forced to look at what’s important. I had to think, ‘How do I want to live my life from now on?’”
In the exclusive chat, the mum to son Zephyr, 14, and 10-year-old twin girls Xanthe and Zena also talks about being forced to look at what’s important, the exercises that make her kids think she’s “crazy” and how she copes with the fear of her cancer returning.
This new way of being and thinking involves more time in nature - something she describes as “fundamental to human health”. She says, “A walk in a forest is good for your respiratory system, great for your digestion, your eyesight, and your sleep patterns. It’s beneficial in so many ways. Watching nature, engaging with nature, caring about nature, and walking in it is fundamental to human health.”
And she’s making sure her children are joining her outdoors to combat endless screen time. When it comes to her more ‘unconventional’ activities in nature - including walking backwards and dance parties - she admits, “They think I’m a crazy mum”.
“But I force them in terms of, ‘Right, have you been outside today? No? Then we’re going to get some daylight into your eyes - and therefore your brain!’”
Especially as kids get older, you’ve got to work harder to get them outside and away from screens. It seems as if screen patrol is an endless loop!”
It’s not just impromptu dance parties that Julia swears by for a healthy life. There’s one thing every woman should be doing to live longer - lifting weights.
If a woman has the “willpower to consistently resistance train” then “their true superpower would be to live a longer, stronger and healthier life.”
It’s clear Julia is in a great place physically - but is she equally as strong mentally? Does she have fears about the cancer returning?
“No,” she answers, “Because I won’t let myself. That’s where meditation and emotional work have been crucial. I’m starting a new type of therapy soon, which is about overcoming trauma. I want to make sure that I have [emotionally] handled [the cancer] well and I’m not holding onto something.”
Julia might be a beacon of wellness and inspiration, but it’s encouraging to hear she still has a vice or two. While, once upon a time, it might have been “too many glasses of wine”, her new thing is “staying up too late to watch a boxset back-to-back”. Recent viewings for Julia include Mafia! and the Kim Kardashian-fronted All’s Fair.
Now 55, following a television career that includes fronting Countryfile and Watchdog, Julia is also a wellness advocate, drawing on nature, nutrition and science-backed health hacks to live well and educate others.
“I’ve been on telly for almost 30 years, and I still go, ‘Wow, I feel lucky,’” she tells Woman.
And, given her zest for life, it’s not too surprising to hear that last year she embarked on a 24-day expedition to Antarctica, which was filmed for a new TV series. It was her first major journey since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.
Of her adventure, she says, “Antarctica is the largest ice sheet on Earth and contains about 90% of the planet’s fresh water. One day, we were moving through the icebergs, and one caved into the ocean next to our boat.”
“It cemented the feelings of awe and wonder I have about the power of nature.”
It was the “longest time [she’s] ever been away from home since cancer,” but Julia explains the trade-off for missing some things with her kids was getting to share some of the “epic Antarctic vistas with them” on video calls.
And it’s given her the taste for more. “I’ve never been to the Amazon, and I hope one day to get there.”
Watch Julia Bradbury’s Wonders of the Frozen South on ITV1 and STV at 12.45pm on Sunday 22 February and 1 March. Also available on ITVX and STV Player.
This article first appeared in a February 2026 issue in our sister magazine, Woman. Buy a copy or subscribe today.
