Sir Tony Robinson has spoken out to correct a common misconception about prostate cancer testing, after living with the disease for 13 years.
The 79-year-old Blackadder star, known for playing Baldrick in the BBC sitcom, was diagnosed around 2013, but publicly announced it in 2023 to raise awareness of the “vile” disease.
Robinson, who said he is “fine” as it was detected so early, has now said that the main problem with people getting checked “has always been that blokes think that if they are threatened with prostate cancer, they are going to have the doctor’s finger up their bum”.
The former Time Team host told podcast A Night In With Sally Lindsay that this is an outdated belief. "That kind of used to be true, but it's not a very good check because the prostate is just like a little apricot,” Robinson said. “I only knew about a year ago that doctors don’t use that check anymore."
Prostate cancer is now diagnosed using a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test as well as a digital rectal examination, and in some cases, a biopsy is also taken.
Robinson said he himself didn’t realise this until recently, despite campaigning for more awareness around the disease. He said he wants to inform men of the update as “so many are disturbed by that idea” of the physical examination.
“If it really gets going, the idea of being ‘Oh I don't want anyone messing there,’ it's foolish – it's not being grown up and foolish. It’s madness,” said Robinson.
The actor and presenter revealed that he had been diagnosed after undergoing a health check ahead of a TV show he was filming.
An average of 64,000 men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in the UK each year, and more than 12,000 will die, making it one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the UK.
It has become the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK in the last 10 years, helped by famous faces sharing their diagnoses, including Stephen Fry and the late presenter Bill Turnbull.
Last month, Jeremy Clarkson shared his prostate cancer diagnosis on an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, which led to a fourfold increase in the number of men seeking advice and checking to see if they’re at risk of the disease.
The cancer was diagnosed early, with Clarkson revealing in a subsequent interview that a post-treatment test two months ago found no indication of cancer and declared him in remission.
Prostate cancer charity websites reported upticks in site traffic following the episode’s broadcast.
Similarly, King Charles speaking about his enlarged prostate diagnosis and David Cameron sharing his own diagnosis in recent years saw large spikes in visits to the NHS website.
In 2025, Robinson and journalist Dermot Murnaghan said they were “disappointed” after a national committee decided against recommending universal prostate cancer screening for all men.
He told The Independent: “I was lucky I found my cancer early, but nearly 10,000 men a year are diagnosed too late for a cure and that’s just not right.
“I’ve been working with Prostate Cancer UK to speak up about this disease, telling men they’re at risk and dispelling worries about testing, like the dreaded finger which you actually don’t need to test for prostate cancer.
“But we need the responsibility to do something to not rely entirely on men knowing about this disease that no one really talks about.”
Robinson backed the Transform trial, launched by Prostate Cancer UK, which looks into whether combining PSA with other tests, such as rapid MRI scans, could lead to a recommendation for population-wide screening.
