Columnist Diamond dies of cancer

John Diamond: Wrote about his fight with cancer

Columnist and broadcaster John Diamond, the husband of cookery writer Nigella Lawson, has died following a long battle with throat cancer.

Times editor Peter Stothard confirmed that Diamond died on Thursday morning.

Diamond, 47, who wrote the acclaimed novel C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too, was known for his honesty about how the disease affected him and his family.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1997, having initially been told it was bound to be non-malignant, and wrote a column in The Times documenting his experiences.

The writer was made Columnist of the Year in 1997 for the What the Papers Say awards and was shortlisted for the 1999 Samuel Johnson Prize, which is worth £30,000.

Nigella Lawson was Diamond's wife

The writer did not just write about his experiences - he also made a documentary with the BBC's Inside Story, which followed him through the months of operations, radiotherapy and waiting.

Two months after the initial diagnosis, a secondary cancer was discovered in his tongue and he had to undergo radiotherapy.

Diamond said this was "worse than cancer" and that it was the first time he had felt "properly frightened" since his original diagnosis.

He compared his operation to remove the tumour to a "surgical mugging", and afterwards he compared his truncated voice to "Charles Laughton in an underwater version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Diamond leaves his wife Nigella and two young children.